(Mankato, MN) The Mankato MoonDogs were trailing going into the top of the third inning in the continuation of Saturday night’s suspended game, but that would be the last time they would trail in this contest. Michael Rockett (Texas-San Antonio) led off the third inning with a single, and from there, the Mankato squad went on to put together a 20-hit performance, scoring 18 runs and winning the game 19-3.

New MoonDog Cory Harrilchak (Elon) made his presence in the lineup known right away singling in his first at bat. He continued to do this finishing the game 5-for-5 with five singles. Recent Twins draftee Nate Hanson (Minnesota) also put together a solid 5-for-5 performance with two doubles and three singles. Hanson, Harrilchak, and designated hitter Carlos Ramirez (Chandler-Gilbert) all drove in three runs in the game, but they were overshadowed in that department by first baseman Wes Freie (Iowa) who collected five RBI on a 2-for-5 hitting performance.

The MoonDogs capitalized on some sloppy fielding by the Bullfrogs, who committed seven errors in the first game of the doubleheader. Mankato scored in six of the nine innings played, scoring multiple runs in five of these innings. The eighth inning produced a tie for the season high in runs scored in a single inning with seven. The MoonDogs 1-5 hitters (Rockett, Harrilchak, Hanson, Freie, and Ramirez) strung together five consecutive hits in the middle of the inning to push the score out of reach for the visiting Bullfrogs.

Starter James Dale (MSU-Mankato) went the distance for the MoonDogs allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out six, and walking three. Bullfrog starter Cody Griebling did not fair as well as his counter part allowing 12 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits. Griebling also walked three batters.

The second game of the night started after the two teams took a short supper break. After this starter Jimmy Reyes (Elon) put together a gem through five innings holding Green Bay to just one hit. During these five innings, the MoonDogs built a 5-0 lead on some timely hitting by Carlos Ramirez, who continued to swing a hot bat on the night going 3-for-3. The rest of the Mankato bats dropped off quite a bit from their first game heroics, and as the game moved on, the hits became harder and harder to find.

This was not a problem for the Bullfrogs in the seventh when Zach Calhoon (Texas-San Antonio) entered the game. Calhoon allowed a single to the lead off batter and then proceeded to walk four consecutive Bullfrog batters. Erik Hamren (UC-Irvine) was inserted into a tough position, entering the game with the bases loaded and no one out. Hamren got the MoonDogs out of the jam, but was unable to hold the lead for the home team as the Bullfrogs took a 7-5 lead.

Ramirez led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and Matt Prokopowicz (Hofstra) was walked to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Bullfrog catcher Rocky Gale noticed Ramirez taking a large lead off of second and caught him off guard with a pick-off leaving one out with a runner on first. The MoonDogs were not able to generate anymore offense in the remainder of the inning, and dropped the contest 7-5, earning them a split in the doubleheader.

The win in game one extended the MoonDog road winning streak to five games and brought their season mark to 8-1, and 8-2 after the split. The split leaves the Bullfrogs a game under .500 at 5-6.

The two teams will meet on Tuesday to finish their two-game series. The game will begin at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night is Leap over the Bullfrogs night at the ballpark. If the MoonDogs game goes extra innings, all fans receive a free ticket for a future MoonDogs game. Anyone born on February 29th gets in free. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact the MoonDog ticket office at (507)-625-7047.