By: Mitchell Speltz
DULUTH, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs (31-15) returned to winning form against the Duluth Huskies (19-26) on the road at Wade Stadium on Saturday with a 6-3 win.
The game was scoreless through the first three innings but Duluth cracked the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI single from Bryan Broecker (Michigan State) to make it 1-0 Huskies.
Mankato came back with an answer next half inning as Adam Fogel (Hawaii) tripled into the left-field corner, setting up Alex Baeza (Utah) who brought in Fogel with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at one.
The Huskies lead didn’t let the game stay tied for long as Ambren Voitik (Grand Canyon) put the Duluth right back on top with a base-hit scoring Michael Brooks (Central Florida) making it 2-1 Huskies.
But the MoonDogs rallied in the sixth thanks to a pair of big hits. With the bases loaded and two outs, Adam Fogel came through as he produced two runs on a single to left putting Mankato ahead 3-2.
The next batter was Alex Baeza and he dropped a double into left field to score two more making it a 5-2 game.
After Duluth got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, Matt Higgins (Bellarmine) gave Mankato one extra run of support on his 15th double of the season scoring Justin Boyd (Oregon State) from first. That RBI for Higgins was his league-best 40th of the season as he continues to pace the NWL in that category.
Vince Reilly (Grand Canyon) locked it up from there as he pitched the final two innings putting up zeroes in each frame to secure his third save of the season.
Dalton Mesaris (Western Kentucky) earned his fourth win of the season in relief as he threw 1.2 innings allowing 1 run, he turned back a pair of big threats in the fifth and sixth inning by the Huskies to keep Mankato in a position to win.
The MoonDogs and Huskies will battle it out again on Sunday afternoon as Mankato goes for the sweep on the road in the final game before the All-Star Break. First pitch is at 1:05 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.
