It just wasn’t the Larks’ day today, as the yellow birds woke up early to take on the Mankato MoonDogs in what was supposed to be the first game of a doubleheader. However, Mother Nature had other plans in Bismarck, and the Larks only got in game one. The MoonDogs were firing on all cylinders and couldn’t be stopped. The final score was 14-1.

On the mound, it was the Caleb Strack (Iowas) show. The MoonDogs’ southpaw threw a seven-inning gem, giving up no runs or walks and striking out 10. He faced off with Larks’ righthander Dillon Goetz (Skyline), who took his third loss of the season despite giving up no earned runs. Goetz also threw the Metro Area Fastest Pitch of the Game in the first inning at 89 mph.

The scoring got going in the second for Mankato. The orange and black put up six runs in the inning, highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Easton Fritcher (Minnesota), two RBI walks, and Nolan Tichy (U Mass) dunking a ball down the line in right to clear the bases.

Flash forwarding to the sixth, after scoring in the two previous innings, Mankato would put up 4 more, with Joe Hauser (Minnesota) hitting a towering home run the other way to make it a 13-0 ballgame. Max Williams (Alabama) would then hit a solo homer in the seventh to add to the lead.

The Larks would finally get on the board in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Jack Herring (Rollins) hit his first home run as a Lark in his first at-bat at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark. Herring’s blast would go down as the Fetzer Electric Play of the Game.

However, the solo shot would be nowhere near enough for the Larks, as Bismarck dropped its second straight game to Mankato and fell to 9-13 on the 2023 summer. 

The Larks did not play the second game of the doubleheader due to rain and lightning. The game will be made up tomorrow, with a doubleheader scheduled to start around 4:00 p.m. CT. Tomorrow is also US 103.3 Night and Hall of Fame Night. Enjoy your favorite country music hits and join US 103.3, Bismarck’s new country, at the Larks game! Hang out with some of their amazing on-air personalities. Join us as we also induct a new Larks alumni into the Hall of Fame presented by Scheels.