Mankato, Minn. – It was another night at the Frank, and another victory for the MoonDogs. Danny Miller and Tony Strazzara homered and Kyle Knudson added two hits and two RBI to a 9-4 MoonDogs victory over Thunder Bay Tuesday night at Franklin Rogers Park.
The victory gave the MoonDogs (8-4) their second straight series sweep and ran their win streak to four games. After a 1-3 start, the ‘Dogs have been on a tear, winning seven of their last eight contests.
The MoonDogs muscled up, belting two home runs on the evening, starting with Strazzara’s (San Diego) in the first inning. Miller (Minnesota State) would later homer in the sixth, icing the victory with a three-run blast, as the squad nearly matched its season total which stood at three coming into Tuesday night.
The ‘Dogs jumped on Thunder Bay (2-10) starter Chris Braaten early with six runs in the first three innings. After the Strazzara dinger, the ‘Dogs plated two in the second on a wild pitch and Troy Larson (Minnesota) groundout to permanently take the lead after the Border Cats had scored two in the second.
Three runs in the third came from the bats Brian Haar (San Diego) and Kyle Knudson (Minnesota). Haar singled in Jimmy Patterson (Central Arizona) while Knudson, who made his 2009 MoonDog debut Tuesday, brought home a pair of runs with a single.
Patterson went 2-5 with one run and Miller posted a 2-3, two-run three RBI evening for the MoonDogs. Cameron Smith and Derek Hamblen both had two hits to pace the Cats, while Hamblen drove in three.
Zach Whitman (Georgia Southwestern) moved to 1-1 on the season, picking up the win by going five innings and striking out four. Braaten fell to 0-2 after getting tagged for six earned runs in 2.2 innings. Tony Manville (Northern Illinois) posted his first save by striking out three and allowing just one hit in four innings.
The MoonDogs will stay in their division for their next two games as the St. Cloud River Bats will pay a visit to Mankato on Wednesday and Thursday. First pitch for both games is set for 7:05 p.m.
