By Connor Wachtel
Mankato, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs dropped game one of two-game home and home series with the Rochester Honkers in Mankato on Thursday night. The final score was 7-0 as solid pitching and hitting for the Honkers was the difference.
BOX SCORE: Rochester 7, Mankato 0
Threatening with the bases loaded early, the Honkers plated a run in both the first and third. It gave the Honkers a 2-0 lead after three at The Frank.
A.J. Miller (University of Oregon) hit a ground rule double down the leftfield line to score another. A few batters later, Miller scored when Andy Armstrong (Oregon State) roped a single to score one more. Rochester held a 4-0 lead after six.
Miller added another two RBI in the next inning and increased the Honkers lead to 6-0 after he recorded a single.
Rochester put more salt in the wound of Mankato in the eighth, recording a free pass to score the game’s final run, making it 7-0.
Player Notables:
The MoonDogs only could muster up four hits Thursday night with the first coming in the seventh. Offensive player of the game goes to Adan Fernandez (FIU) who went 2-4 with a double.
Earning the win was David Lemasters (Lake Erie College) after he went seven complete innings allowing two hits and striking out five MoonDogs batters. He surrendered no walks or runs.
The loss went to Mankato’s starter, Trent Baker (Angelo State), after he threw three innings and was hit off six times for two runs. He walked one and struck out three.
Due up for the Dogs:
Up next for the Mankato MoonDogs (13-18) is a trip east on Highway 14 to play the Rochester Honkers (17-13) at Mayo Field for game two. Tyler Lesley (Angelo State) with represent the Dogs as the starting arm. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. in Rochester, Minn.
###
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.
