Written By: Tyler Haack

Photo By: Kenzie Schmidt

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade and that is exactly what the MoonDogs did tonight as they tied the series against the Thunder Bay Border Catz. Reece Elston led the MoonDogs out on the field for what was a must win game to keep the first half moving in the right direction. Reece threw five strong innings striking out seven of the nineteen batters he faced without surrendering a hit. Reece was matched by his Thunder Bay counterpart Jack Pineau who threw for six innings retiring every batter after a led off double by Easton Fritcher until the MoonDogs broke the game open in the sixth.

Elijah Borjas sparked the flood of runs in the sixth with a two-run single with a 1-2 count. The MoonDogs continued to pour on the runs with Max Williams and Joe Hauser driving in runs to round out all 4 of the MoonDogs runs. The MoonDogs were put on notice the next half inning as the Border Cats strung together two runs behind Dalton Mullins and Jackson Bonneville before Derrick Smith took control of the inning and slowed anymore progress.

RJ Elmore started the eighth inning making his MoonDogs debut and made it a doozy with three up and three down. This left the ninth inning primed for returning MoonDog John Lundgren. Lundgren entered the ninth ready to show the Mankato faithful what he had in store for them this season. Lundgren struck out the illusive beer batter for the past two nights setting a tone for what was to come. Lundgren with the help of his fielders made short work of the remaining two outs that were needed to secure the first win of the 2023 season.

The MoonDogs look to continue the momentum gained today into the Hot Tots series slated to start Wednesday 6:35 p.m. at ISG Filed.