(6/23/06) On Death, Taxes And A MoonDogs Victory Night, the MoonDogs simply would not lose, living up to the guarantee of a win.

Ryan Addison’s home run in the bottom of the ninth tied the game, and Chris Henault’s two-run homer an inning later won it, giving the MoonDogs a thrilling 3-1, 10-inning victory.

Henault’s blast came with two outs in the 10th off reliever Ben Mayhew. Michael Parker had singled with one out, and after Ben Geelan struck out, Henault hit a towering drive to left field, sending the Loggers’ Travis Check drifting to the wall until he watched it disappear.

Earlier, Check appeared to be the hero for La Crosse, laying down a bunt with a runner at third. MoonDogs third baseman Nate Hanson barehanded the ball but his throw to first was ruled too late by the first base umpire, and La Crosse was three outs from victory. They would get no closer than those three outs.

Addison led off the bottom of the inning with a high drive to left to tie the game 1-1. Hanson followed with a walk, and was sacrificed to second by Robert Rodebaugh. The Loggers intentionally walked Tim Smith, a strategy that paid off when Shane Buschini grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The MoonDogs nearly took the lead in the eighth, when with one out, pinch-runner Chris Rodriguez stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Henault then lifted a medium depth fly ball, and right fielder Ross McCoy was able to fire the ball home in time to nail a sliding Rodriguez.

Dane Secott had another strong performance on the mound for the MoonDogs, going 8.2 innings and allowing only an unearned run and four hits while striking out six. Jason Novak pitched 1.1 innings to earn his first win of the season.

Mankato MoonDogs– Baseball Unleashed!