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Published On: August 5th, 2016

Mankato, Minnesota—With the final three playoff spots in the North Division still up for grabs, tonight’s matchup between the Mankato MoonDogs and La Crosse Loggers at Franklin Rogers Park was a pivotal one.

It would be a dog fight from start to finish, but when the dust finally settled, Mankato would be your winner with a final score of 13-9, despite allowing six Logger homeruns.

The win was a critical one for the ‘Dogs, as St. Cloud and Willmar each went home victorious tonight, so Mankato will preserve their position in second place of the North Division.

After falling behind 1-0, the MoonDogs would turn the offense on, scoring double digit runs and plating four or more in multiple innings; the first in fifth inning and the next in the eighth.

In the fifth inning, the MoonDogs would load the bases for Alvaro Rubalcaba, who would proceed to rip a double to bring home three MoonDogs. Rubalcaba would eventually come in to score himself to cap off the four run inning for Mankato and give the MoonDogs their first lead of the night.

They would add two more in the sixth, courtesy of David Metzgar, who hit the second bases-loaded double of the night for Mankato, this time scoring two.

Each team would add a run in the seventh and then the fireworks came out in the eighth, from both teams.

The Loggers would score four in eighth, including two long bombs off pitcher Cooper Powell, to tie the game seven a piece.

It would not be enough to discourage the ‘Dogs, however, as they would send 11 batters to the plate in the eighth, six of whom would go all the way around the bases to help retake the lead for Mankato at 13-7.

The Loggers would not go down easily in the ninth, bringing home two runs and sending the tying run to the plate after loading the bases, but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit Mankato set in front of them.

The middle infielders for Mankato played a huge role in the offense tonight, with Rubalcaba (3 RBI) and Drew Fearing (2 RBI) each driving in multiple MoonDogs as well as scoring twice a piece.

First basemen Bryce Adams would also drive in three runs tonight, while going 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored as well.

Starter Tyler Lesley would give Mankato seven innings on the bump, allowing three runs while striking out five on his way to a no decision.

Kevin Yarabinec would get the final two outs for the MoonDogs, each of which came in the strikeout variety, to earn his fifth save of the season.

Tomorrow night will wrap up the seven game home stand for Mankato, as the Loggers will stay at The Frank for the final game of the two-game series between these 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

You can also catch all the action live at 1230 AM The Fan Mankato, 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.