By Connor Wachtel
Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Mankato MoonDogs dropped their first game of two with the Thunder Bay Border Cats north of the border on Thursday night. The final score was 3-1 as the MoonDogs failed to convert on opportune scoring chances in the seventh and ninth innings.
BOX SCORE: Thunder Bay 3, Mankato 1
The Border Cats got on the board first with a single from Anthony Galati (Sacramento City) to score Nick Seamons (Univ. of Nevada – Reno). Thunder Bay held a 1-0 lead after the third.
The MoonDogs had a great chance to get on the board in the seventh with a pair of leadoff hits followed up by a walk to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, fielder’s choice and putout the Border Cats held the MoonDogs scoreless through seven.
In the bottom of the seventh, Thunder Bay plated two insurance runs with a wild pitch to score one and when Jakob Newton (Florida Tech) notched an RBI single for the other. The Border Cats had a 3-0 lead after the seventh.
Mankato scored their first run in the eighth. Cuba Bess (Grand Canyon) notched the RBI via a sacrifice fly to score Taylor Jackson (Kirkwood CC). The Dogs decreased the deficit to two and trailed 3-1 going into the ninth.
In the ninth Mankato rallied, getting a pair of one-out singles. However, Thunder Bay worked its way out of the jam and held on for the 3-1 win.
Player Notables:
Turning in the MoonDogs notable offensive performance was. The MoonDogs first baseman recorded the lone RBI for the Dogs with a sac fly and walked twice.
Earning the win on the hill was Thunder Bay’s starter, Mark Anderson (Lafayette College – Pennsylvania), after he went six frames allowing a pair of hits and no runs. Anderson walked two and struck out seven along the way. Aaron Kern (Minot State) earned the save in the final inning, although he allowed a pair of hits, he struck out one.
Handed the loss was Tyler Lesley (Angelo State) after he went 6.2 innings and surrendered six hits and three runs. Lesley also walked two and struck out eight. In relief Alex Dorethy (Western Illinois) went the last 1.1 innings, allowing only a hit and a walk. He struck out two also.
Due up for the Dogs:
The Mankato MoonDogs (11-14) take on the Thunder Bay Border Cats (9-16) again tomorrow. The starting arm for the MoonDogs will be Jack Schneider (Grand Canyon). The game is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ont.
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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.
