By Connor Wachtel
Waterloo, Iowa – The Mankato MoonDogs fell to the Waterloo Bucks on Tuesday night, ending a three-game winning streak for the MoonDogs. The Bucks power was too much for the MoonDogs to handle as the final score stood 10-6.
BOX SCORE: Waterloo 10, Mankato 6
The Bucks got it going early with a fielder’s choice RBI from Caleb LittleJim (Kansas State). It was the start to a five RBI night for LittleJim as it gave Waterloo a 1-0 lead after one at Riverfront Stadium.
In the third, the MoonDogs got their first run from Mason Crews (Kansas State) hitting a single to left field to bring in the tying run. James Gargano (Butler) scored on the play.
The Bucks followed it up by upping their score with a two-run home run off the bat of LittleJim in the bottom half. There was no stopping the Bucks from there on out.
Another round tripper came in the fourth, it was three-run shot for the Bucks to increase their lead to 6-1. Then, a two-run single brought the inning scoring a total of five runs. It was 8-1 after four frames.
A double play putout turned defensively by the Dogs allowed Matt Campos (Hawaii) to come into score during the fifth. The Bucks held a 9-1 lead after five frames in Iowa.
The MoonDogs bats came back to life in the seventh with a pair of singles, one from Sky-Lar Culver (Arkansas State) and the other from Taylor Jackson (Kirkwood CC), each were to right field to drive in a run.
After stretching time, Waterloo plated another run with a base hit. After seven innings Waterloo was locking it down 10-3.
The MoonDogs mounted a comeback in the ninth scoring three runs on two hits. A single to right field from Jacob Sniffin (Hawaii) scored two and Jackson followed it up by scoring on a putout. However, ultimately the come from behind effort came up short as the MoonDogs fell 10-6 to the Bucks.
Player Notables:
Turning in a notable offensive night for the Dogs was Gargano who went 2-3 with three runs scored and two walks tallied.
MoonDogs pitcher, Nick Schmidt (Kansas State) was handed the loss for going 3.1 innings and allowing five hits and eight runs (seven earned). He walked five and struck out two also. In the fifth, Jimmy Larson (Minnesota State) came in for some relief work where he blanked the Bucks in one frame on the bump. Hayden Juenger (Missouri State) made his MoonDogs debut in the eighth. He went a full inning and struck out two Waterloo batters.
For the Bucks it was the starter, Adam Ketelsen (Iowa), getting the win. He went five frames allowing a run and five hits. He struck out and walked a pair of batters.
Due up for the Dogs:
The Dogs head back to Mankato tonight in preparation for a game at The Frank tomorrow with the St. Cloud Rox. It marks the first home game following a five-game road stint in which the Dogs finished with a 3-2 record. Tomorrow’s probable on the hill is Trent Baker (Angelo State), first pitch is slated for 6:35 at Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato, Minn.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, 225 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), World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS) and MLB All-Stars Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). 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 and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.
