WILLMAR- Minn. The Mankato MoonDogs were able to grab one win against the Willmar Stingers on Sunday night at Bill Taunton Stadium, winning the regularly scheduled game 3-1. They dropped the first game of the night however, after play resumed in the seventh inning for a game that was rain postponed on June 14th. In the rain resumed game, the Stingers came out hot with the bats in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs Brady Schockey drew a walk and Tyler Reichenborn followed with a base hit. Then Josh Bissonette drove in Schockey from third on a base hit and Nolan Bumstead gave the Stingers a 4-2 lead when he hit an RBI double in the following at bat. After the Stingers seventh, the MoonDogs could not solve Luke Chavalier in the eighth and ninth innings, managing just one base runner combined on a walk. Gus Varland got the win in relief for Willmar and Matt Young (Nevada Reno) took the loss, having given up the go ahead runs in the seventh inning. Luke Chavalier picked up the save, having pitched the eighth and ninth.
In the regularly scheduled game in Willmar, the MoonDogs were able to get by the Stingers 3-1, scoring all the necessary runs in the first and second innings. In the first, Kyle Cuellar (UCLA) led off the game with a walk. Then with two outs, Logan Busch (North Dakota State) drove in Cuellar with a single. In the second inning, the MoonDogs led off with back-to-back walks to Wells Davis (South Alabama) and Alvaro Rubalcaba (Cal State Northridge) and a sacrifice bunt by Jake Ortega (CSU-Bakersfield) put both runners in scoring position. Kenton Crews then smacked a double to the gap in right center field, scoring both runners and putting the MoonDogs up 3-0.
The game remained three to nothing until the Stingers put a run across in the sixth when a leadoff single by Nate Sterijevski allowed him to come around to score later in the inning on a single by Caleb Ledbetter. The inning was nearly more disastrous for the MoonDogs, but Addison Reed (Chipola) came in relief to pitch with the bases loaded and one out. He got Josh Bissonette to strike out and Nolan Bumstead to fly out to left field, ending the Stingers rally. MoonDogs starting pitcher Ricky Digrugilliers (Minnesota State) picked up the win, going 5.1 innings and allowing 1 run on 7 hits, walking 4, and striking out 2. Naithan Dewsnap (CSU-Bakersfield) faced just six hitters in the eighth and ninth innings and got the necessary six outs, earning his fourth save. Cameron Churchill took the loss for Willmar, working 2.1 innings and giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits, walking 6 and striking out 3.
The MoonDogs (12-14) will return home tomorrow to face the Stingers (14-13) at 7:05 at Franklin Rogers Park. Tyler Lesley (Incarnate Word) is expected to get the start on the mound for Mankato. The two game split on the day keeps the MoonDogs seven games out from first place Waterloo in the first half north division standings.
##
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.
###
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.
