RICHMOND, Ind. — The Richmond Flying Mummies (8-8) return to the friendly confines of Historic Don McBride Stadium Thursday night after a long road trip for the first of two rematches against the Rockford Rivets (8-8).

In one of the most anticipated promotional events of the season, the Flying Mummies welcome fans for Napoleon Dynamite night, celebrating the 2004 cult-classic film. The movie’s three main actors, and Mummies co-owners, Jon Heder (Napoleon), Jon Gries (Uncle Rico), and Efren Ramirez (Pedro) will all be in attendance. Additionally, the first 500 fans will receive an exclusive “Vote for Wilbur” t-shirt.

Richmond takes the field at McBride for the first time in eight days following a six-game road stretch. The team went 2-4, securing a win in the first game against the Royal Oak Leprechauns before dropping the second, then being swept by the Kenosha Kingfish, and finally falling in the fifth contest against the Rivets before bookending the trip with a win.

While the Flying Mummies and Rivets both had Wednesday off, the two sides still benefited, rising a spot in the Great Lakes East division to a three-way tie for third with the Traverse City Pit Spitters, one game behind the 9-7 Leprechauns, and two away from the 10-6 Kalamazoo Growlers.

The Rivets arrive in Richmond with one of the best batting orders in the Northwoods League. Sporting top-seven rankings in team batting average, hits, RBI, and runs, Rockford’s offense has the potential to be potent on any given night, which the Mummies experienced firsthand via a five-run third inning in the 7-2 loss Monday.

Any fair contact made by Rockford’s batting order will have to contend with arguably the best fielders in the NWL, however, tied for the league-high in fielding percentage and least errors committed. Whether or not runners make the basepath may be less of a fielding concern though, as the Mummies’ pitching rotation has allowed the most walks this season, and advanced the second-most batters on hit-by-pitch.

Looking to avoid continuing that trend is Nick Julian (1-0, 4.50 ERA), making his third start of the season and first at home. For Rockford, Baris Brua (0-1, 15.19 ERA) trots out for the fifth time.

First pitch from McBride is scheduled for 6:35 PM EST, with gates opening one hour prior. Fans can purchase tickets at the gate, or online via the Richmond Flying Mummies website. A livestream is also available on FloSports.

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The Richmond Flying Mummies are a proud member of the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 410 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (BAL) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (NYM). League games are viewable live on FloSports.tv.