LACROSSE- Wisc. The Mankato MoonDogs, a member of the Northwoods League received an above average pitching performance from their starting pitcher, Tyler Lesley and went on to defeat the LaCrosse Loggers at Copeland Park 6-3 on Thursday night. Lesley was able to go seven strong innings for Mankato, allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits while adding 8 strikeouts.
The MoonDogs offense continued to produce in the early part of the season and they were able to score runs in each of the first four innings of the game. First baseman Brett Newberg had the best night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a pair of runs batted in. Newberg's leadoff double in the ninth helped the MoonDogs add an eventual insurance run which saw them increase their lead to 6-3. Drew Fearing made his return to the MoonDogs after a tremendous season with the club in 2016.
Lesley picked up the win on the mound for Mankato while LaCrosse starter Garrett Christman took the loss, going 3.1 innings and allowing 5 runs, 2 earned while walking three and striking out one. Joey Gerber picked up his first save of the year, coming in to retire Sanagorski in the eighth and then sitting down the Loggers in the ninth.
The MoonDogs (2-1) will be back in action tomorrow at Copeland Park for the second game of their four game road trip, playing the Loggers (0-3) at 7:05pm.
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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit [www.mankatomoondogs.com]or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC).
All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
