Mallards Pitching Proves Too Strong For ‘Dogs

As the Mankato MoonDogs walked into the home of the defending Northwoods League Champions, Madison Mallards, they arrived to an exciting yet intimidating atmosphere. Mallards fans came by the thousands, as 5,164 screaming fans came to celebrate the season opener between the MoonDogs and Mallards. Both teams battled hard but Madison’s pitching, provided by starter Adam Mills and reliever Tim Gudex, proved too strong for the MoonDogs who succumbed to a 4-1 defeat.

As opening night kicked off, it was the MoonDogs who struck first when Robert Rodebaugh, out of Presbyterian College in South Carolina, hit a solo shot to right field in the second inning, giving the ‘Dogs an early 1-0 lead. But that’s all the runs the ‘Dogs would score. MoonDogs starting pitcher Tyson Brummett pitched five innings of scoreless, one hit ball until Ryan Rogowski hit a two out, run scoring triple to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth.

The wheels fell off for the MoonDogs in the bottom of the 7th inning, when they allowed 3 runs after a leadoff triple by Mike Rohde and 3 hit batsmen. With the score 4-1, the Mallards left the game to pitcher Tim Gudex to finish. In front of his home crowd, Gudex closed out the contest by fanning 5 MoonDogs and allowing no hits in the last three innings while picking up the win.

The leading hitters for the MoonDogs were Drew Davis out of Elon University with a 2-4 performance, Josh Stirneman from Houston who was 1-4 with a double, and Rodebaugh who finished the game hitting 1-3 with a home run.

The MoonDogs will get another chance at the defending champs tonight at 7:05 in Madison. MoonDogs pitcher Brandon Thomson gets the nod against returning Mallards pitcher Jake Hansen. Be sure to tune in to all the action by clicking the "Listen Live” link on the MoonDogs homepage.