(Mankato, MN)—The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce sophomore pitcher/first baseman Kevin Dixon of MSU-Mankato has re-signed with the MoonDogs for the 2005 season.

Dixon, according to Baseball America, is ranked as the #6 prospect in all of NCAA Division II baseball.

"I’m excited to be coming back,” Dixon said. "I think I have a lot more experience and that will help. Hopefully, I can portray that to the team and everybody else as a veteran leader.”

Dixon, at 6’4”, 230 lbs, made an immediate impact to the MoonDogs rotation in 2004, with a fastball topping out in the mid 90’s. His poise and control on the mound helped him to lead the team in ERA, a miniscule 1.45, while boasting the best K/BB ratio (5/1) and tying for the team lead in saves (4).

"Kevin has really proven himself. He’s got great velocity on the mound and a lot of potential at the plate. He’s just a great athlete,” MSU’s head coach Dean Bowyer said.

Dixon, a mid-season All-Star for the MoonDogs in 2004, also showed great power as a hitter tying for the team lead in homeruns (4) and ranking in the top five in RBI.

In the Northwoods League All-Star game, Dixon had the chance to show off his homerun hitting ability to scouts and the rest of the league when he was crowned the champion of Home Run contest, out-slugging the NWL MVP Phillip Hawke (University of Louisiana, Lafayette) of the Waterloo Bucks, 4-3 in the championship round.

In that same game, Dixon took the mound for the North Division All-Stars in the 5th inning, who were already trailing 10-0, and became the first pitcher fr0m the North Division to retire the side in order.

The Mavericks open their season on the road against the Braves of the University of West Georgia, on March 3 in Carrollton, GA. The Mavericks home opener will be April 5, 2005 against Southwest Minnesota State.

MoonDogs baseball starts June 1, against the reigning NWL Champion Madison Mallards, in Madison. Season tickets and group tickets are on sale now, with single game tickets available May 7. Call the MoonDogs ticket office, 507-625-7047, or check out www.mankatomoondogs.com for any of your MoonDogs needs.