Written by Jacob Toepfer
MANKATO, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs lost to the St. Cloud Rox, 12-5, at Joe Faber Field, Sunday afternoon.
With this loss, the MoonDogs drop to 14-14 on the season while the Rox improved to 19-5 on the season and four games from clinching the first-half title in the Great Plains West.
Mankato opened up with a run in the first inning. Boston Merila (Minnesota) walked and was later brought in off a Sean Ross’ (Indiana State) groundout.
The MoonDogs had five guys with one RBI, including Merila and Ross. Brendan Hord (Evansville), Cade Verdusco (Grand Canyon) and Garrett Williams (Abilene Christan) were the other three.
The Rox were all over the MoonDogs early and took the lead in the bottom of the second by a 5-3 margin before never looking back.
They were led by Josh Cowden (Brigham Young) and Brady Prewitt (Colorado State). Each of them had two RBI. Every batter in the Rox lineup had a hit but one, they finished the game with 11 hits.
Weston Lombard (San Francisco) started for the MoonDogs and pitched an inning and a third, giving up three runs before acquiring his fourth loss of the season. The Dogs were relieved by Thomas Bruss (Augustana), Timmy Reeve (San Joaquin Delta), and Taisei Yahiro (Grand Canyon.)
The MoonDogs look to bounce back on Monday night as they take on the Waterloo Bucks in another Great Plains battle. The MoonDogs will have Miles Garret (Vanderbilt) on the mound making his debut at Riverfront Stadium.
-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.
