EAU CLAIRE-Wisc. Tyler Lesley (Incarnate Word) pitched seven and a third innings of scoreless baseball and the MoonDogs went on to defeat the Eau Claire Express 12-0 in round one of the 2017 Northwoods League Playoffs at Carson Park in front of a crowd of 695. Daniel Amaral (UCLA), Kenton Crews (Evansville), and Jake Shepski all hit home runs in seperate innings to help to MoonDogs, adding insurance to their lead in the game.
The first inning began with a leadoff home run byDaniel Amaral, giving the MoonDogs an early 1-0 lead. In the third, Kyle Cuellar hit a one-out double and scored on a single by Alvaro Rubalcaba to make it 2-0. After Jake Ortega and Daniel Amaral both reached on singles in the fourth, Jake Shepski hit a home run to left center field off Express started Luke Eldred to make it 5-0. A three run homer by Kenton Crews in the eighth made it 8-0 and the Express walked 6 in the ninth, helping bring the score to 12-0.
Daniel Amaral went 3 for 5 with an RBI and Kenton Crews had 4 runs batted, going 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. Six MoonDogs hitters ended with two or more hits and the MoonDogs as a team had 15 hits on the night. Tyler Lesley earned the win, going 7.2 innings and allowing 0 earned runs on 3 hits, walked 3 and struck out 3 while throwing 96 pitches. Matt Young and Blake Tritch also pitched in relief for Mankato. Luke Eldred took the loss for the Express, working 4.0 innings and giving up 5 earned runs on 11 hits, walked 2 and fanned 2.
The MoonDogs win against Eau Claire on Monday night avenges a loss in the first round of the playoffs they recorded last year in a game that was also at Carson Park. The MoonDogs hold the best overall record in the North Division for the regular season and will host the second round of the playoffs on Tuesday night against the St. Cloud Rox (who defeated Willmar). First pitch at Franklin Rogers Park is scheduled for 7:05pm. Call the Mankato MoonDogs office at 507-625-7047 or visit the Mankato MoonDogs website for tickets. The MoonDogs have now made the Northwoods League playoffs seven times in their sixteen seasons, and advance from round one for the 4th time.
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 180 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 website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play