Waterloo, IA — Jake Shepski helped propel the Mankato MoonDogs to a win against the Waterloo Bucks, hitting a solo home run that broke a 1-1 tie midway through the ballgame. Mankato won the game 4-1 on Friday night at Riverfront Stadium against the Bucks for their 20th win of the season.
The MoonDogs and Waterloo Bucks were again locked up in a tight game heading into the top of the fifth inning. Enter Jake Shepski (Notre Dame). The Northwoods League leader in batting average took the first pitch he was offered over the right field wall of Riverfront Stadium, putting the MoonDogs ahead for the first time against the Bucks, 2-1. Shepski finished the night 1-for-2, with the solo home run and three walks including one that was intentional.
The intentional walk to Shepski brought David Metzgar (Cal State Bakersfield) up to the plate in the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and second base. Metzgar singled home Drew Fearing (North Dakota State) from second to put Mankato up 3-1. The 'Dogs would add one more run in the ninth for insurance to reach the final, 4-1.
Reece Eddins (Nebraska) pitched brilliantly, retiring 11 straight Waterloo hitters between the third and sixth innings. Eddins would earn his second win of the season, going 6.2 innings while allowing one run on six hits, with two walks and strikeouts. Brick Paskiewicz notched his third save of the season, retiring the final seven hitters in order to shut the door on Waterloo.
The MoonDogs travel to La Crosse tomorrow to face the Loggers for a weekend series. First pitch will be at 6:05 PM, featuring Josh Matheson (1-1) for the MoonDogs and Zach Kesterson (1-2) for the Loggers. Catch the action all season long on The Fan Mankato.
###
The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mankatomoondogs.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.
