The Mallards enter tonight?s Quench Gum home opener with retribution in mind as they take on the defending Northwoods League Champions, Thunder Bay. The Border Cats defeated Madison two-games-to-one in last season?s NWL Championship Series to deny the Mallards their second straight NWL title.
Trying to put the stop on the Cats tonight will be Casey Baron. Baron is one of only three returning pitchers from the 2005 staff that set a NWL single season record for team ERA (2.31). He?ll be challenged tonight, however, facing a Border Cat?s roster with only three left-handed position players. Last summer, Baron went 4-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 10 starts. He struck out 40 while walking only nine.
Offensively, the team will be led by fourth year Mallard Mike Rohde and a large group that put up fine numbers at their respective colleges. Rohde hit .312 in 65 games last summer with the Mallards and was a mid-season all-star.
Tonight is Quench Gum Opening Night presented by WKOW. The first 1,000 fans will receive a T-shirt and all fans will receive a UW Asthma, Allergy and Pulmonary Research Poster Schedule. It?s also the first Budweiser Pint Glass Series Night at the Duck Pond. The first 1,000 fans, 21 and over, will receive a limited edition Budweiser collectors glass. It will be the first in a group of five collectors glasses this summer at the Duck Pond.
The Mallards have released the starters for the first three games of the 2006 season. After Baron pitches tonight, Manager C.J. Thieleke will turn to right-handed-pitcher Kitt Kopach on Friday night and lefty Marc Lewis on Saturday.
