Kalamazoo, MI — The Kalamazoo Growlers hosted the Mankato MoonDogs Wednesday night, with both teams looking to start the second half of the season as strong as they finished the first. Austin Woodby (Ohio State) dominated the MoonDogs lineup, retiring the first 20 hitters he faced, eventually getting the win as the 'Dogs fell 2-1 at Homer Stryker Field.
Woodby made his second start for the Growlers in Kalamazoo against Manakto, and early on it looked like Mankato's starter, Cameron Linck (LA Tech), would match him throughout the game. Both pitchers retired the side in the first inning for a quick start.
In the second, Woodby struck out the heart of the order for Mankato, while Connor Smith drove in the first run of the game. Woodby continued to keep MoonDogs hitters at bay, eventually going up 2-0. In the seventh, Mankato would finally get to the Growler's right hander.
Jake Shepski (Notre Dame) struck a two-out double to break up Woodby's perfect game, landing himself in scoring position. He wouldn't be there long, when Chase Hamilton (Austin Peay) singled to drive Shepski in to narrow the gap to one run.
Mankato would get two runners into scoring positon over the final two innings of the game, but would strand both and end up losing the game 2-1. Cameron Linck was charged with his first loss of the season for the MoonDogs. Shepski went 2-for-4 with a run scored and continues to swing a hot bat at the plate.
The MoonDogs will close out their two-game set against the Growlers tomorrow, with a 7:05 PM EDT first pitch. All of the action can be heard through mankatomoondogs.com, The Fan Mankato, and the iHeart Radio App.
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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.