Rochester, Minn- The Mankato MoonDogs cut their magic number down to one after defeating the Rochester Honkers 7-3 Sunday afternoon at Mayo Field.

The MoonDogs offense scored seven more runs Sunday, totaling 25 runs over 18 innings against Rochester during the two game series. Sam Lind (Vanderbilt) had another solid day at the plate for Mankato going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Blake Schwartz (MSU) walked three batters and struck out five over seven innings of work. Schwartz came into Sunday’s contest with 13 scoreless innings under his belt, and carried his streak into the fifth inning before allowing two earned runs. His 17 scoreless innings are the longest for any MoonDogs pitcher this season. In all, Schwartz allowed three runs on the day.

With the win today, the MoonDogs are now 21-9 on the season and have a chance to clinch their third first half championship in four years at Franklin Rogers Park, Monday night.

As part of the 4th of July celebration, all premium, reserved, and general admission tickets are only $4. Single game tickets are on sale at the MoonDogs ticket office located at 1221 Caledonia Street, or online at mankatomoondogs.com