Written by Connor Wachtel

MANKATO, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs defeated the Great Plains West division-leading St. Cloud Rox, 9-3, at ISG Field, Saturday night.

Claiming the six-run victory, the MoonDogs improved to 14-13 on the season while taking down the Rox for the first time in their fifth meeting of the season, who now stand 18-6 with the loss.

Sean Ross (Indiana State) had a massive night at the dish and led the MoonDogs, batting five-for-five with a double, triple, run scored and two RBI.

 

Ross opened the scoring in favor of the MoonDogs, Saturday night at ISG Field. Ross’s diamond-cutter single drove in Kai Roberts (Utah) from third after he reached on an error by the Rox leftfielder.

The Rox evened the score in the top of the third inning when Trevor Austin (Mercer) flew out to right deep enough to score John Nett (St. Cloud State) from third for a sacrifice fly.

In the fifth inning, St. Cloud claimed the lead with two runs off one swing by Austin that snuck around the leftfield foul pole. The MoonDogs answered with two runs of their own to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Charles McAdoo (San Jose State) homered to left-center to cut the deficit to one before Ross tied the game with another RBI single to center.

With no outs in the bottom of the seventh, Derek Shoen (UMary) drew a bases-loaded walk to give Mankato its first lead of the game before a wild pitch scored a second run, giving the MoonDogs a two-run advantage.

The bottom of the eighth inning saw the MoonDogs pile on four more runs to take a six-run lead, 9-3. Tyson Neighbors (Kansas State) took over on the mound for the ninth and sealed the deal for a MoonDogs’ 9-3 victory.

Starting on the mound for the MoonDogs, John Lundgren (North Alabama) pitched 4.2 innings with seven hits and four runs against with two walks allowed and four strikeouts. In relief, Luke Young (Oklahoma State) picked up the win after throwing two and third shutout innings with a pair of hits allowed.

The MoonDogs and Rox rematch at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn., Sunday at 4:05 p.m. Weston Lombard (San Francisco) is scheduled to pitch for Mankato in the finale.

 

-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’ 28^th 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.