DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks (29-32 overall, 11-16 second half) managed to muffle the hot bats of the Mankato MoonDogs (29-32 overall, 14-13 second half), but ultimately could not move the needle, dropping the series opener on Thursday evening.

The Big Sticks got the offense going in the bottom of the 1st inning with Blake Beheler (Blinn JC) reaching on a hit by pitch, one of the four times he reached in the contest. Derek Martinez (Arkansas State) followed, smashing a two-run home run over the right-center field wall to take a 2-0 lead.

The MoonDogs countered in the top of the 3rd inning with two doubles, one by Sean Griggs to lead off the inning, then another by Josey Williamson with two outs to score Griggs and cut the lead to 2-1.

Mankato then piled on in the top of the 4th inning, plating three runs. The first run came in via a sacrifice fly by Caleb Barnett, the second scored on a fielder’s choice, and the final run came in when Badlands caught Griggs stealing second base, which allowed Nico Libed to score from third base.

The 4-2 lead by Mankato held until the 7th inning when they added on two more runs. Williamson hit an RBI single, and Marvin Montenegro followed with an RBI single of his own, pushing the lead to 6-2.

The Big Sticks offense was silenced from the 2nd inning into the bottom of the 9th with two outs. Cougar Cooke (Arkansas State) teed off on a 1-0 pitch, driving a towering home run into center, but it was too little too late for Badlands, as the final score of 6-3 would hold.

The Big Sticks now fall five games under .500 in the second half and sit just two games from being eliminated from the playoffs. They finish the series against Mankato on Friday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. MST.