MoonDogs Lose to Bucks in Extras

Mankato was given a strong start from starting pitcher Nick Belzer (Minnesota State), as Belzer allowed one earned run in seven innings, walking none and striking out seven.

The MoonDogs carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth after Nick Novak (Angelo State) scored in the first on a wild pitch, while Blaze Glenn (Youngstown State) drove in the lone RBI of the day in the fourth inning.

Jordan Jackson (Nevada) started on the mound to in the ninth, but was unable to records an out, leaving the bases loaded and walking in a run. Quinn Reimers (South Dakota State) found himself in a bases loaded jam with no one out staked to a one run lead. The next pitch thrown was a bloop single past Novak at shortstop that allowed the tying run to score. The MoonDogs gunned down the winning run at the plate on a relay throw by CJ Huntley (Indiana State) and a tag by catcher Max Wright (Indiana State).

Mankato went down in order in the top of the tenth, allowing for Waterloo to have another shot to win the game. After getting the first two men aboard, Jeff Diemling (New Mexico) walked it off with a game winning single to center field to defeat the MoonDogs.

Mankato will finish their four game set with the Waterloo Bucks Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM Central Time.

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.