Photo captured by Dylan Engel (Mankato MoonDogs)
Written by Jacob Toepfer
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs beat the St. Cloud Rox, 2-1, in a Northwoods League baseball game, Wednesday night at Joe Faber Field.
With its sixth consecutive victory, Mankato improved to 15-9 in the second half and 34-24 on the overall season. St. Cloud, with the loss, dropped to 17-9 in the second half and 42-17 on the season.
Zach Stroh (Minnesota State – Mankato) had a fantastic day at the plate batting two-for-three and scoring two runs for the MoonDogs. Adam Stevens (Vanguard) and Dustin Crenshaw (Grand Canyon) had the only RBI in the pitcher’s duel in St. Cloud.
Stevens drove in the first run for the MoonDogs in the fourth on an RBI single to center that plated Stroh. In the sixth inning, a sacrifice fly hit by Crenshaw scored another run to extend the lead to 2-0 after six innings at the Rock Pile.
The Rox began a comeback by scoring a run on a groundout in the eighth. However, Sky Wells (Cal State – Long Beach) stymied any chance of it being completed in the ninth when he picked up his first save of the summer. The MoonDogs untimely completed the home-and-home series sweep with a 2-1 victory, Wednesday night.
Starting on the mound for the MoonDogs, Taisei Yahiro (Grand Canyon) pricked up his first to move to 1-0. He pitched five innings of one-hit shutout baseball with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.
Up next, the MoonDogs head to Bill Taunton Stadium to take on the Willmar Stingers at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.
-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. Now in its’ 29th 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, 300 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 2019/2021 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 and on ESPN+. 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.