By Connor Wachtel
Mankato, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs had early offense and solid pitching on Sunday that led them to a 5-0 shutout win and series sweep over the Waterloo Bucks.
BOX SCORE: Mankato 5, Waterloo 0
Scoring began with the MoonDogs in the first. James Gargano (Butler) scored on an Adan Fernandez (FIU) single to make it 1-0.
In the third, Josh Elvir (Angelo State) drove in Gargano for his and the Dogs second run scored of the game. In the next at bat, Mikey Perez (UCLA) crushed a three-run bomb. His 4th home run of the summer gave Mankato a 4-0 advantage after the third.
Garrett Gilbert (Creighton) crushed his first home run of the summer with a no doubter in the fourth. The MoonDogs owned a 5-0 lead the rest of the way to notch a sweep of the Waterloo Bucks and enter the all-star game with a pair of wins.
Player Notables:
Carter Rustad (San Diego) pitched 4.2 innings on Sunday as the MoonDogs starting arm. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out six. In relief, Shane Barringer (Bellarmine) came in and finished the fifth and worked through the sixth. Barringer earned the win, he also struck out two along the way. Nick Hull (Grand Canyon) came in to work the seventh and eighth and recorded two strikeouts. Jack Pilcher (Butler) shut things down in the ninth with two more strikeouts, adding to the MoonDogs final game total of 12.
The loss went to Waterloo’s starting arm, Daniel Colwell (UCLA). The southpaw worked through the first five frames surrendering eight hits and five runs (two earned). He retired two Dogs batters with strikeouts.
Due up for the Dogs:
Over the next three days, MoonDogs pitcher Tyler Lesley and outfielder Josh Elvir each will represent the Dogs and the Angelo State Rams at the Northwoods League All-Star Game on July 16. Elvir will also compete in the league’s home run derby prior to the game’s 7:05 p.m. start time. Each of the all-star events will be held at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa.
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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.
