EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. The Mankato MoonDogs won a pitcher's duel against the Eau Claire Express Sunday night 2-1 at Carson Park. With the victory, they split their two game series against the Eau Claire express and go 2-2 on the road trip. MoonDogs starting pitcher Andy Fisher fanned eleven and pitched 8.0 innings, allowing just three hits and 1 run (unearned) while walking two. In innings three and four, Fisher was a strikeout machine, sitting down 6 of the 7 Express batters he faced.
Offensively, the MoonDogs scored their first run of the game in the top of the fourth. Nick Vaage earned a one out single and came around to score on an eventual Ethan Valdez single. On the same play, Brett Newberg tried to take advantage of an Eau Claire throwing error coming around third but failing to score when he was tagged out at the plate.
The Express tied the game at one in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Tanner Umentum singled and advanced to second on an error. He then scored an unearned run when Jake Moebius singled to left. The game looked destined for extra innings until the top of the ninth, when Ethan Valdez mounted a threat with his one out double down the left field line. The next hitter, CJ Shaeffer was hit by a pitch and then Dylan Dressel (Minnesota State) doubled to score Valdez, giving the MoonDogs the 2-1 lead.
Joey Gerber came in relief of Fisher in the bottom of the ninth and after walking Daniel Jones, got Brian Grove to ground into a 1-4-3 double play to end the game. Gerber picked up his second save of the season for his relief effort. Austin George took the loss for the Express, allowing the winning run in the ninth and striking out one. Fisher's eleven strikeouts were second most by a MoonDogs pitcher this season. (Collin Floyd fanned 12 against LaCrosse).
With the win the MoonDogs move to 3-3 on the season and return to Franklin Rogers Park Monday to play the North Division first place team, the Willmar Stingers (4-2). Dariel Checo is expected to get his second start for Mankato. Eau Claire drops to 3-3 and plays two games on the road next against the Waterloo Bucks.
Game Attendance: 1,304
Time of the game: 2 hours, 17 minutes
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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. 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 170 former 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 (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit [www.mankatomoondogs.com]or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and two-time World Series Champion 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 or on Google Play.
