MANKATO-Minn. Levi Scott hit a towering home run in the ninth for Mankato but in the end, it wasn’t enough as the MoonDogs lost a 13 inning battle to Lakeshore 5-4 on Thursday night at Franklin Rogers Park. With the victory, the Chinooks take a 1-0 series lead in the championship series heading back to Lakeshore for game two tomorrow night.

With the game tied 4-4 in the top of the thirteenth, Lakeshore second baseman Jake Noll slammed a double to deep left center field to lead off the inning. Brett Siddall advanced him to third on a ground ball and designated hitter Kyle Wood drove in the winning run on his hit to left field off MoonDogs pitcher Austin Warner.

The MoonDogs once again showed their resilience earlier in the game however, giving them some optimism looking forward to game two. Down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Levi Scott came to the plate with one out and drove a home run to left field to tie the game and send the MoonDogs to extra frames.

The MoonDogs committed three errors in the game with a crucial one charged to Tanner Rockwell in the eighth, eventually bringing Zack Bowers on an RBI single from Michael Morman. Sterling Koerner got the win for Lakeshore, throwing 1.2 innings in relief and allowing three hits. Austin Warner took the loss in relief for the MoonDogs.

Tomorrow night game two will be at Kapco Park with game three also taking place in Lakeshore if necessary Saturday night. Fans can listen to the game live on AM1230 The Fan Mankato with the voice of the MoonDogs Josh Horton.