Mankato, Minn. — The MoonDogs signed their final four players before the season kicks off next Tuesday, May 29th. Local right-handed pitcher from Minnesota State University, Jonathan Ludwig, will pitch for the MoonDogs. Quinn Reimers will not have to travel very far, as he will move from Brookings, South Dakota, to play baseball in Mankato this summer. Jarod Wright out of Southern Mississippi and Jordan Jackson from the University of Nevada both have signed to pitch for the MoonDogs as well.
Nick Belzer – Minnesota State
The 6’2, right-hander has signed to stay in Mankato and pitch for the MoonDogs this season. The redshirt-junior has two seasons under his belt with Minnesota State University Mankato. Over the course of two years, he accumulated 85 innings pitched and posted a 4.13 ERA with 108 strikeouts. One of his better outings in 2018 came on March 7th against Walsh, where he pitched six innings, struck out six batters, and surrendered only one run.
Josh Elvir – Houston
After his first season with the Houston Cougars, Josh Elvir signed to play in the outfield for Mankato this summer. Originally from Cedar Falls, Iowa, Elvir also played for Angelina College, where he played 49 games in 2017 and hit .404 AVG, 11 home runs, and drove in 39 runs. In that same season he was named First Team All-Conference and to the All-Region team.
Jordan Jackson – Nevada
A freshman out of San Diego, California will pitch for the MoonDogs this summer after his first season with the Nevada Wolf Pack. He pitched 23 1/3rd innings out of the bullpen this spring and struck out 25 batters. His longest outing came against Fresno State, where he pitch 4 1/3rd innings, struck out 5 batters, and only surrendered two runs on March 24th.
Ben Komonosky – Northern Iowa CC
The catcher out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, signed to play for the MoonDgos this season. The 6’2”, catcher will enter the MoonDog season coming off of a great month of May. In May, he had a slash line of .359/.390/.538 with one home run and seven RBI in 10 games. On May 13th, Komonosky had one of his best performances of the season, going 3-5 with one home run, two RBI, and one run scored against Iowa Central Community College.
Jonathan Ludwig – Minnesota State University
The redshirt-sophomore will stick around Mankato this summer to pitch for the MoonDogs. The 6’5, right hander pitched 9 2/3rd innings in 2018 and struck out 11 batters. Ludwig posted a 0.60 ERA in 2017, threw 15 innings, and only gave up two runs over the course of the season. In 2016, he pitched the most innings in his collegiate career, with 33 1/3rd innings in eight appearances, one of them being a shutout, and posted a 2.97 ERA on the season.
Cole Pengilly – Gustavus
Pengilly, who grew up in Le Sueur, Minnesota, will play behind the dish this summer for the MoonDogs. The freshman out of Gustavus played all 38 games this spring and hit .333, drove in 22 runs, and hit one home run. Out of his 123 at-bats he only struck out a total of nine times. Cole is now the fifth catcher to join Mankato’s roster.
Josh Ramirez – Washburn
The senior, right-hander was the primary starting pitcher for Washburn in 2018, starting a team-high 13 games. He concluded the spring with a 4.44 ERA and 58 strikeouts out of 75 innings. Ramirez had one his best outings of the college season on March 2nd, where he pitch 7 2/3rd innings without giving up a run and struck out six batters.
Quinn Reimers – South Dakota State University
The 6’4, sophomore from Pierre, South Dakota, has signed to pitch for the MoonDogs this summer. Reimers pitched a total of 43 1/3rd innings for SDSU in the past two years, and posted a 5.82 ERA with 29 strikeouts. Quinn hasn’t surrendered any runs in his last three appearances with SDSU. In high school, he had earned the Russ Snyder Baseball Leadership Award, and played on the 2016 American Legion state tournament team.
Blake Tritch – North Dakota State
Native of Chaska, Minnesota, Blake Tritch will join the MoonDogs pitching staff this season. The sophomore, right-hander appeared in nine games in the spring and accumulated 17 2/3rd innings pitched. Tritch posted a 4.08 ERA and struck out nine batters. In high school, was named All-State, All-Conference, and All-Section after he batted .333, hit 7 home runs, and 27 RBI as a senior. He was also dominant on the rubber, posting a 0.72 ERA, striking out 77 batters out of 84 innings pitched along with a no-hitter.
Jarod Wright – University of Southern Mississippi
The junior, right-hander coming off his first season with Southern Mississippi, will join the MoonDogs pitching staff. Through 17 appearances, Wright pitched a total of 28 2/3rd innings, and posted a record of 3-1. Southern Mississippi currently ranks 18th in Baseball America’s College Top 25 rankings. Before joining the Golden Eagles, Wright played for the Northwest Mississippi Rangers. The Arlington, Tennessee native put up a 9-3 record his sophomore year, with a 3.51 ERA for the Rangers.
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.
