Mankato, Minnesota—In a critical matchup between two teams that came into the game separated by just a half game at the top of North Division standings, the Mankato MoonDogs were unable to take the division lead, falling to the Rox 9-6.
A couple of big innings for the Rox put them up early, scoring two in the fourth and then five in the fifth, giving them a 7-1 lead at the halfway point in this one.
Jake Shepski would continue on his torrid pace to get Mankato back in this one, scoring the first MoonDogs run when he attempted to steal second and a wild throw that would make it past the centerfielder allowed him to score all the way from first.
The next inning Shepski would rip a two-run two-out double, his 18th two-bagger of the year adding to his league-leading doubles total, to cut the Rox lead down to 7-3.
Shepski wasn’t finished yet however, crushing a ball over the right field wall for his tenth homerun of the year, tying him for the league lead, to give the ‘Dogs three more and make it a one run game at 7-6 in the eighth.
When all was said and done, Shepski finished with two hits in three at-bats, scoring two runs while driving in five with a homerun to account for all six of Mankato’s runs.
St. Cloud would get two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to three runs, and in the final Mankato at-bat, Rox pitcher Brian Glowicki would retire the MoonDogs in short order to end the game and extend their divisional-lead over the ‘Dogs to a game and a half.
Brett Newberg would give the MoonDogs a nice outing from the ‘pen for Mankato, going 4.0 innings in relief allowing just one run on four hits.
St. Cloud will be back at the Frank tomorrow night to take on the MoonDogs for the final game of the two-game series between these two top of the division teams.
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the gates, in their office at 1221 Caledonia St., or online at www.mankatomoondogs.com
If you can’t make it to the Frank, you can listen to the game live on 1230 AM The Fan Mankato, on the iHeart Radio app, or online at www.mankatomoondogs.com
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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.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22-year-old summer collegiate 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 former 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 website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store.