Mankato, Minn – The MoonDogs won their fifth straight game at The Frank tonight over Waterloo after a couple of big offensive innings from their lineup. Josh Elvir led the way tonight with three hits, a walk and an RBI.

In the second inning, Evan Klugerman (Bucknell) started the offense with a double that would move Zac Wiley (Bellarmine) over to third and eventually score on a CJ Huntley (Indiana State) single.

The Dogs would go on the attack again in the bottom of the sixth when Andrew Morales (Angelo State) hit a two-RBI single and Josh Elvir (Houston) drove in a run with a single to center.  Mankato would take a 7-0 lead and bat around the order by the end of the sixth inning.

Waterloo responded with a rally of their own in the top of the seventh that started with a home run from Drue Galassi (W. Illinois). After walking the bases loaded, Ryan Gonzalez (Incarnate Word) hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line. The Bucks would rally back and shorten the deficit to 7-5.

Mankato extended their lead again in the bottom of the seventh after Nick Novak (Angelo State) chopped a single into the infield turf and drove in a run. Andrew Morales would follow up by driving in his third RBI of the night on a fielder’s choice.

Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine) entered the game in the eighth and pitched the final two innings and struck out four batters without allowing a base runner.

The MoonDogs will play in Waterloo tomorrow and Friday for the last two games of a four game series. First pitch against the Buck will be at 6:35 pm.

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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in 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, more than 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 https://northwoodsleague.com/mankato-moondogs/ 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.