Photo Captured by Dylan Engel (Mankato MoonDogs)
Written by Connor Wachtel
MANKATO, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs fell 5-3 in their first meeting of the season against the Bismarck Larks, Sunday night at ISG Field.
With the loss, the MoonDogs have now lost four straight games and own a sub-.500 record (10-11) for the first time all season. The Larks improved to 8-11 with their victory.
The Larks cracked the score column first on Sunday when Reggie Williams (CSU – Pueblo) blooped a single to left to score A.J. Barraza (Cal State – San Bernadino) from third base, which made it a 1-0 game.
Bismarck took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning when an error on the MoonDogs’ shortstop allowed Kai Hori to score from second base. Two batters later, Khalid Callymore (Montevallo) scored on a single to short hit by Dylan Perry (Kaskaskia). With five innings by the wayside and four to go, the Larks carried a three-run lead over the MoonDogs.
After the Larks scored another run in the top half of the eighth, the MoonDogs broke through and cracked the score column for the first time in 26 innings. Kai Roberts’ (Utah) double down the leftfield line scored John Newman Jr. (California – Santa Barbara) to bring Mankato within three of Bismarck. Later in the inning, an RBI groundout from Treyton Rank (Florida State) and RBI single from Ariel Armas (San Diego) added two more runs to bring Mankato within one of the Larks, 4-3.
After the Larks scored an insurance run in the top half of the ninth, Nate Boyle (Drury) took the mound and struckout the side to secure the 5-3 win as well as his fourth save of the summer.
Picking up the win was Seth Brewer (Northern State) to improve to 2-2 after h pitched seven shutout innings with seven hits against, a walk and two strikeouts.
Starting on the mound and handed the loss after pitching four and two-thirds of an inning was Weston Lombard (San Francisco). Lombard now stands 0-3 after surrendering four hits and three runs (two earned) while walking one and striking out four along the way.
The MoonDogs rematch the Larks in the series finale Monday for a 6:35 p.m. matchup at ISG Field in Mankato. Nolan Pender (Bellarmine) is listed as the probable starting arm for Mankato.
-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’ 28th 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 280 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 (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist 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 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. 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.