Waterloo, IA — Reece Eddins picked up his fourth win of the season, shutting out the Waterloo Bucks through his seven innings pitched at Riverfront Stadium on Saturday night. The 6-1 win propelled the MoonDogs into first place in the race for the second-half championship in the North Divison.
Eddins had everything going for him on the mound against Waterloo. Seeing three hitters in each of his first four innings of work, the tall righty out of Nebraska took to the hill on Saturday trying to bounce back from his worst outing of the season. Eddins masterfully navigated Waterloo's lineup until the fifth, when Waterloo's Tyler Curtis struck a single through the right side of the infield on a hit-and-run to end Eddins' run.
The MoonDogs' starter would only let up one more hit during the outing, while walking a season-high four with three strikeouts. The performance by Reece Eddins was only bolstered with home runs by Jordan Washam and Chase Hamilton, who got Mankato out to a 2-0 lead after five innings.
Three runs would score for the MoonDogs in the eighth, with one more crossing in the ninth. Kenny Varnell (Fresno State) took the ninth inning, where the Bucks strung together three hits that brought home one run. The shutout was broken up, but Mankato got the win to improve their record to 10-5.
While the MoonDogs took care of business in Iowa, they recieved a little help back in Minnesota. The Duluth Huskies up-ended the St. Cloud Rox 14-7, dropping the Rox to second place in the North Divison behind the MoonDogs. This marks the first time during the second half that Mankato has led the division.
Mankato will be back in action tomorrow, as they take the field at 3:35 PM CDT for their final game of the regular season against the Waterloo Bucks. The team will have an off-day on Monday before returning to Franklin Rogers Park for a two-game home stand. Get your tickets at www.mankatomoondogs.com or stop by their offices on Caledonia Street.
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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mankatomoondogs.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.
