By Connor Wachtel
Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Mankato MoonDogs dropped their second and final game of the series with the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Friday. Thunder Bay took it in an extra inning for a 3-2 final to hand Mankato their seventh straight loss.
BOX SCORE: Thunder Bay 3, Mankato 2
The MoonDogs got out to a fast start with Cuba Bess (Grand Canyon), the leadoff hitter, roping a line drive out to the wall for a triple. Josh Elvir (Angelo State) drove him in a few batters later via an infield putout. The MoonDogs finished the first with a 1-0 lead.
Mankato padded their lead in the sixth when Mikey Perez (UCLA) came through with a sacrifice fly to score Nick Novak (Angelo State). In the bottom half of the sixth the Border Cats evened the score with one swing of the bat. It was two-run home run off Jake Engel’s (Dixie State – Utah) bat to score Jakob Newton (Florida Tech) as well on the play. The score was squared up at two after the sixth.
The game would need extras to declare the winner on Friday. The bottom half of the tenth proved to be difference maker for the Border Cats as a leadoff double to the leftfield gap clinched the win. Ryne Edmundson (Houston Baptist) notched the game-winning hit to secure the 3-2 win for Thunder Bay.
Player Notables:
Turning in the notable night for the MoonDogs with a bat was Novak who went 2-3 with a run scored and two free passes.
Earning the win was Thunder Bay’s right hander Joe Moran (Anderson University – Indiana) who pitched 5.2 innings. Moran allowed a pair runs and three hits. He walked three and struck out four as well.
Jack Schneider (Grand Canyon) started on Friday for the Dogs and went 5.1 innings. In the no decision, he surrendered two runs on four hits. Schneider also walked two and struck out nine which consisted of a pair of innings in which he struck out the side. Reece Calvert (Western Kentucky) came in for relief work during the sixth finished the game with the loss after allowing the game-winning run in the 10th. Calvert finished with 3.2 innings of work where he allowed a lone hit and run that ultimately decided the game’s outcome. He also walked a pair and struck out five other Border Cat batters.
Due up for the Dogs:
The MoonDogs (11-15) head back to Mankato to play host to the Rochester Honkers (14-10) tomorrow. Carter Rustad (San Diego) is the probable to start on the hill for the Dogs. It will mark Rustad’s debut in a MoonDogs uniform and the third time ever a MoonDogs player touches the field following a high school season. First pitch from the right hander is slated for 6:05 p.m. 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.
