Mankato, Minn. — The Mankato MoonDogs recently added four players to the roster as the 2018 season is now under two weeks away. The MoonDogs added two first basemen, Ronnie Sweeny from Iowa Western, and Andrew Morales out of Angelo State University. They also added a catcher in Evan Klugerman from Bucknell University and relief pitcher, Adam Lukas from the University of Evansville.
Ronnie Sweeny – Iowa Western
The Woodbury, Minnesota native will join the MoonDogs after contributing to the Iowa Western Reivers 24-0 conference mark. The Reivers finished with a perfect record in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference and held an overall record of 47-5. Sweeny added a slash line of .378/.476/.598 including five doubles, two triples, and three home runs to Iowa Western’s accomplishments. Sweeny was an All-State selection in high school in 2017, All-Section in 2017 and 2016, and All-Conference in 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Evan Klugerman – Bucknell University
A junior from Weston, Florida, Klugerman was honored with a Second Team All-Patriot League selection as the regular season came to a close for Bucknell. The Bison catcher hit for a .248 batting average during the regular season with an on-base percentage of .382, a home run, seven doubles, and is ranked second on the team with 22 RBIs. Klugerman knocked in a career-high four RBIs in a Bison win over Navy and went 3-for-5 with a home run against Duke earlier this season. Klugerman is the son of Jeff and Michelle Klugerman and is an economics major.
Andrew Morales – Angelo State University
The first baseman from Angelo State is the second member of the Rams to join the MoonDogs in 2018. Angelo State finished fourth in the Lone Star conference with a record of 14-10 and an overall record of 33-18. Morales contributed 49 hits in 164 at-bats throughout the regular season and conference tournament scoring 28 runs and held a batting average of .299. The junior from Cedar Hill, Texas, was a WJAC All-Conference member in 2017 while playing for Odessa College. There he also secured First Team All-Region honors and was a First Team Junior College All-American.
Adam Lukas – University of Evansville
The sophomore from Grafton, Wisconsin will join the MoonDogs after he pitched 32 innings for the University of Evansville in 2018. The 6’4, right-handed pitcher struck out 34 batters in his 15 appearances. In Lukas’ longest outing this year, he pitched 6 innings, gave up 1 run and struck out 7 batters against Creighton University. In his senior year of high school, he posted a 1.17 ERA and a .153 opponent batting average while striking out 62 batters.
The MoonDogs begin the season with a home game against the Duluth Huskies on Tuesday, May 29th, with first pitch scheduled at 7:05 pm.
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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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, 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.
