By Connor Wachtel
Mankato, Minn. — The Mankato MoonDogs have acquired four new arms for their upcoming 2020 season. Among them are Ryan Christopher, AJ Wood, Cameron Zunkel and Justin Foy.
Ryan Christopher – Concordia – St. Paul
Christopher, a southpaw starting arm out of Jackson, Minn., went 2-3 in six starts with the Golden Bears in 2019. In 25.2 innings of work, Christopher posted a 5.96 ERA and retired 30 of 125 batters faced on strikes. Also a force on offense, Christopher hit eight triples and four doubles while batting .292 in his sophomore year.
AJ Wood – Tarleton State University
A senior transfer in 2020 at Tarleton State University, Wood is a native of Sacramento, Calif. At Central Washington University in 2019, the right-handed bullpen arm pitched 33 innings and allowed 28 hits for 19 earned runs. Wood struck out 44 batters in 13 games for the Wildcats.
Cameron Zunkel – Illinois Springfield
Zunkel, a native of Lombard, Ill., is a right-handed redshirt junior pitcher from the University of Illinois Springfield. He was named to the All-Grand Lakes Valley Conference First Team in 2018, ranked third in the GLVC and 36th in NCAA DII with seven saves. He totaled 80.1 innings of work in 38 appearances and finished with a 5-5 record during his first two seasons with the Prairie Stars.
Justin Foy – Western Illinois University
Foy, a right-handed pitcher from Western Illinois University, appeared in 18 games on the mound, seven in the starting role. In 38.1 innings, he led the Fighting Leathernecks staff, holding opponents to a .225 batting average. He totaled 46 strikeouts and amassed four or more strikeouts in a game seven times. The junior native of Taylor Ridge, Ill. finished his second season with four straight scoreless outings.
The Mankato MoonDogs begin their season on May 26, at Franklin Rogers Park when they square off with the Willmar Stingers at 6:35 p.m.
###
The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 26th season, the Northwoods 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, over 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.mankatomoondogs.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.