By: Connor Wachtel

ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs (10-6) overcame the Rochester Honkers (5-7) 4-3, Tuesday at Mayo Field, to secure a split of the two-game road series 

 

Mankato found themselves on the other end of a 4-3 spectrum, Tuesday night. With the victory, the MoonDogs secured their fourth win in five games and moved into first in the Northwoods League Great Plains West Division. 

 

After Matt Higgins (Bellarmine) reached second with a two-out double, Cole Andavolgyi (Golden West College) singled up the middle to put Mankato on the board first, 1-0, Tuesday. 

 

Andavolgyi struck again for his second RBI of the night in his second at bat when he hit a sacrifice fly to score Adam Fogel (Hawaii) in the third inning. After three innings, the MoonDogs possessed a 2-0 lead. 

 

In the sixth inning, Will Hanafan (Creighton) got aboard via a two-out walk before swiping second. Kole Kaler (Hawaii) clutched up to score Hanafan with a double into the left-center alley. In the next at bat, Fogel followed suit with a two-bagger down the line in right to put Mankato up 4-0. 

 

The Honkers wasted no time shrinking the deficit to one when Jackson Forbes doubled down the leftfield line to clear the bases and made it a 4-3 game. 

 

The MoonDogs held on to split the two-game series at Rochester with a 4-3 win, Tuesday. Hits went the way of Mankato 9-3 while defensive miscues sided heavily with the MoonDogs as they had the game’s only four errors. 

 

Ivran Romero (San Diego) pitched five no-hit scoreless frames for Mankato in his second start of the season to move to 1-0. Romero walked three and struck out three. In the eighth, Davonte Butler (Cal State – Bakersfield) embarked on what was eventually a two-inning save. Butler was hit off once, walked one and struck out a pair. 

 

The loss went to Rochester’s Evan O’Toole as he fell to 0-1 in 2021, Tuesday. O’Toole entered the third but could not complete it as the Dogs pounced on him for two hits and two runs in the early stages. He walked four and struck out three in the two-inning outing. 

 

Following a three-day break, the MoonDogs take on the Honkers back in Mankato at ISG Field for a pair of games, Saturday at 6:35 p.m., and Sunday at 5:05 p.m. 

 

-DOGS- 

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’ 27th 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.