Thunder Bay, Ontario- The Thunder Bay Boarder Cats defeated the Mankato MoonDogs 2-1 on a walk off base hit Wednesday Night at Port Arthur Stadium.

Tyler Niederklein (Nebraska) made his fifth start of the summer for the MoonDogs and pitched well through 6 2/3 innings. Niederklein allowed one run in the bottom of the first inning but settled in after that, giving up five hits on the night while walking three batters and striking out six. Steven Rice (Vanderbilt) replaced Niederklein in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 1-1 tie, retiring the final batter of the inning. Rice (o-1) would, unfortunately, suffer the loss after plunking the lead off man in the bottom of the ninth inning, who would eventually score the game winning run.

The MoonDogs’ only run came in the top half of the second inning. Joe Loftus (Vanderbilt) and Zak Wasserman (Louisville) reached base with two outs on back to back singles. Nate Johnson then smashed a hard double into right field, scoring Loftus from second. Wasserman was waved home but thrown out on a close play at the plate. The MoonDogs offense had plenty of chances throughout the night, leaving 11 men on base, twice leaving the bases loaded.

The two teams wrap up their three game series Thursday Night at Port Arthur Stadium, with Matt Dunbar (Arizona State) on the mound for the Mankato, making his first start of the season. The MoonDogs return home July 15th for a two game series against the Willmar Stingers. The MoonDogs’ suspended game against Willmar from June 14th will be made up starting at 6:05 on Friday with the regularly scheduled game beginning 30 minutes after the completion of the suspended game. Single game tickets are on sale at the MoonDogs office located at 1221 Caledonia Street. For more information visit our website at www.mankatomoondogs.com or call the MoonDogs office at 507-625-7047.