For the third straight day the Mankato MoonDogs jumped out to an early lead and ended up losing it. However, unlike the two game set in Thunder Bay, the MoonDogs took the lead back in dramatic fashion.
Mankato was down to its last strike as Eric Schenck-Jablinske was stuck in a two-strike count with MoonDogs trailing 9-6 with two outs in the inning. However, he worked his way back into the count and eventually earned a walk, giving the MoonDogs runners on first and second and still two outs in the inning.
Tyler Sullivan then came up to the plate and roped a two-run single, scoring Schenck-Jablinske and Brett Synek. Peter Maris followed suit with a single of his own and Tanner Rockwell capped an already stellar day with a two-RBI double to left-center to give the MoonDogs a 10-9 advantage.
Levi Scott joined the Mankato hit parade in the ninth with an RBI single of his own to make it 11-9 heading to the home half of the ninth.
The Duluth Huskies couldn’t muster any runs in the home half of the ninth as Jake Westerhouse came in to shut the door for the MoonDogs with a perfect ninth.
Matt Wilson picked up his first win as a MoonDog, allowing one run in the home half of the eighth. Sean Poppen was credited with the blown save and the loss for the Huskies.
Rockwell paced the MoonDogs offense going 4-6 and driving three runs. Maris was also 4-6 while Sullivan and Scott had three hits and drove in two runs. Brinn Bell and Synek had two hits each as well.
The MoonDogs big win snapped a two-game skid after a tough trip to Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario. With the victory Mankato improved to 17-10 while Duluth fell to 7-20 on the season.
Mankato now sits in third place just 2.5 games behind Wilmar in the North Division with seven days remaining in the first half.
The MoonDogs and Huskies conclude a two-game series at Wade Stadium in Duluth on Monday afternoon at 6:35 p.m.