DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks (22-22 overall, 4-6 second half) were suffocated by free passes and big innings, ultimately losing a one-sided affair to the Mankato MoonDogs (17-27 overall, 2-8 second half) on Monday night.

The Big Sticks were able to grab the early lead in the bottom of the 1st inning when Samson Pugh (Texas State) doubled into right field, scoring Crew Secrist (Texas A&M – Corpus Christi) to grab a 1-0 lead.

Mankato countered with five runs in the top of the 3rd inning, scoring two runs on two errors and grabbing the remaining three runs on singles by Liam Ebbs, Kyle Hvidsten, and Charlie Longmeier.

Badlands grabbed one back in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Pugh singled into right field, scoring Secrist for the second time and cutting into the lead 5-2.

Both teams tallied a run in the 4th inning, with the MoonDogs hitting a solo home run off the bat of Cole Clark to lead off the top of the 4th inning, then Badlands scoring on a single by Dakota Howard (Southeastern), putting the score at 6-3.

Ultimately, Mankato was the only team to score after the 4th inning, grabbing one run in the 6th inning on another solo home run from Clark, his second of the game.

The game exploded for Badlands in the top of the 7th inning, allowing four runs on walks and one run on a wild pitch. Mankato also grabbed three more runs in the 7th courtesy of a two-run single by Clark and a sacrifice fly by Evan Saunders to put the game at its final score line 15-3.

The Big Sticks will look to right the ship on Tuesday evening with a road contest in Bismarck against the rival Larks in the Railroad to Roosevelt rivalry series, with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. MST.