Northwoods League Announces 2017 Schedule

Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League released its complete schedule today for the 2017 season. With the new additions of the Bismarck Larks and the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders the schedule features 20 teams, each playing 72 regular season games, along with a continuation of scheduled doubleheaders.

The Northwoods League, the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, will begin its 24th season on Tuesday, May 30, when all teams take the field for summer collegiate baseball’s most extensive schedule.

The League, which plays two halves to determine playoff participants, will end the first half of play on July 4 with the second half beginning the following day. The new playoff format will continue in 2017. Beginning on August 14 the first and second half divisional champions will have home field advantage on the first day of the one-game elimination divisional playoffs. Their opponents will be determined by the two divisional teams remaining with the best overall records. The winners of those games will play against each other the following day in another one-game elimination division championship. With no off-day in between, the North and South Division Champions will then meet in a best-of-three series for the Summer Collegiate World Series from August 16-18.

The 2017 Northwoods League All-Star Game presented by Ascension will be held on Tuesday, July 18 in Wausau, WI. In addition to the All-Star Game itself, the two-day event will also include a banquet, Home Run Derby and Fan Fest.

“We are grateful for the support of Ascension who has once again stepped up to the plate to support the community’s quality of life through our national pastime,” said Woodchucks President and General Manager Ryan Treu.

The Major League Dreams Showcase will take place at Warner Park, in Madison, for its fifth year on August 8, 2017. "With 20 teams now comprising the Northwoods League in 2017, this 24th annual schedule of games is further proof of the League's ongoing evolution as the leader in summer collegiate baseball," said Northwoods League President Gary Hoover. "The Northwoods League teams, the wonderful communities where they operate, and most of all our great fans, combine to create a superior developmental experience for players, coaches, umpires and staff unavailable in any other summer collegiate baseball league in the world."

Full league schedules can be found by clicking view all dates at www.northwoodsleague.com/schedule/ or by going to www.northwoodsleague.com/2017-printable-schedules/ and downloading PDF versions of the North and South Division schedules.

The MoonDogs schedule can be accessed by the picture below, or clicking on the following link: http://northwoodsleague.com/mankato-moondogs/downloadable-schedule-2/

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.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.