Mankato, Minn.- The MoonDogs lost to the St. Cloud River Bats, 6-4 at Franklin Rogers Park on Wednesday night. A late comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth wasn’t enough for the ‘Dogs to pull out the victory.

St. Cloud got on the scoreboard in the second inning and never looked back. They scored two runs in the top of the inning and continued to pad their lead throughout the game and fended off the dangerous MoonDogs offense thanks to fabulous pitching by River Bat starter Jon Richard (Xavier). Richard pitched six innings and gave up only two hits and one run, while striking out three ‘Dogs. Richard carries a 2.14 ERA this season and moves to 4-2 with the victory. Tyler Niederklein (Nebraska) suffered the loss for the MoonDogs and falls to 2-1 and now has a 3.00 ERA.

Zak Wasserman (Louisville) had one of his best games of the season going 3-for-4 from the plate with a double, a home run, an RBI and a run scored for the MoonDogs. Steve Nyisztor (Rutgers) had a solid debut for the MoonDogs on Wednesday night. Nyisztor, who was the 2010 Northwoods League MVP, was 2-for-4 on the evening with a run scored and a stolen base. Andy Henkenmeyer (Minnesota) led the River Bat offense going 4-for-6 from the plate with a run scored and a double.

The MoonDogs square off once more against the St. Cloud River Bats on Thursday night at 7:05 at Franklin Rogers Park. The MoonDogs will look to win at least one game in the two game series. Thursday night is Community Bank Hat Giveaway, the first 500 fans receive a MoonDogs hat courtesy of Community Bank, with media partner KXLP.