By: Connor Wachtel
Mankato, Minn. — The Mankato MoonDogs lost, 5-1, to the Willmar Stingers at Franklin Rogers Park Wednesday night.
Late offense was hard to come by for the hosting MoonDogs, Wednesday. After Tanner Brown entered the game in relief for the Stingers to start the fifth, the Dogs were doomed. He put up zeros in the final five boxes and no hit the Dogs the rest of the night. Brown was efficient too, with seven strikeouts and no free passes.
The Stingers got out to an early, 2-0, lead with four hits in the first. RBI singles from Kyle Manzardo and Chase Stanke supplied the early run support.
After the Stingers extended their lead to three in the second, Dylan Phillips fired back with a solo home run in the bottom half, his team-leading fifth of the season, to decrease the deficit to 3-1. But after that, it was Willmar’s game to lose the rest of the evening.
Dylan Phillips (right) used his power to get the MoonDogs their lone run Wednesday night. (Picture taken by Mansoor Ahmad)
The Stingers added another pair of insurance runs in the fourth and went up 5-1.
Ultimately, the Stingers held on for their 15th win of the summer. They outhit Mankato, 8-4. Both sides were perfect defensively, with no errors.
Brown, now 1-1, got the win after the Willmar starter, DJ Wilkinson, went four innings. Wilkinson allowed four hits and a run to the MoonDogs. He walked and struck out one.
The loss went to AJ Wood in his first start for the MoonDogs. The right hander went two innings, allowed four hits, three runs, walked one and struck out three.
For tonight’s box score click HERE.
Tomorrow, the Mankato MoonDogs (10-14) are headed to Bill Taunton Stadium to close out the home-and-home series with the Willmar Stingers (15-8). The game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start.
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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.
