Rochester, Minn- The Mankato MoonDogs offense exploded Saturday night, scoring a season high 18 runs to defeat the Rochester Honkers 18-7 at Mayo Field in Rochester.

Shaun Cooper (Utah) had his best offensive night of the season, going 3-for-5 with three home runs and six RBI. Cooper now has 10 home runs on the season, one shy of the MoonDogs single season record set by Carlos Ramirez (Arizona St.) back in 2008. Mankato smashed five home runs on the night. Brennan Moore (Texas Tech) collected his first homer of the season, a lead-off home run in the top of the first inning. Nate Johnson (Pepperdine) smashed his second home run of the season off the right field scoreboard in the sixth.

The MoonDogs have now scored 51 runs against the Honkers this season, averaging nearly 13 runs per game against their North Division rivals.

Kyle Richter (USC) picked up the win for Mankato, going five innings while allowing four runs on five hits, and striking out five batters. Jeff Rohrbach (St. Edwards) earned his first save of the season, pitching four innings in relief, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five Honker batters.

The MoonDogs magic number is now down to just two games in the Northwoods League’s North Division standings. Mankato could clinch their third first-half championship in four years with a MoonDogs win, and a Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers loss, Sunday. Both teams are scheduled for a 1:05pm start.

The MoonDogs will hand the ball to the Northwoods League’s best pitcher, Blake Schwartz (MSU) in search of his fourth win. Schwartz leads the league in strikeouts (42) and ERA (0.83).

The MoonDogs then return home to celebrate the 4th of July in front of their home crowd Monday night. As part of the celebration, all premium, reserved and general admission seating are only $4. Single game tickets are on sale at the MoonDogs ticket office located at 1221 Caledonia Street, or online at mankatomoondogs.com