Written By: Tyler Kuch
Photo By: Kenzie Schmidt
On a Friday night in Mankato with an energetic crowd, the Mankato MoonDogs did not disappoint, completing the two-game sweep of the Minot Hot Tots with a 5-3 victory at ISG Field. The victory brought the Dogs back up to .500 on the season and featured plenty of flashy plays, both in the field and at the plate.
Like the night before, the MoonDogs drew first blood. In the bottom of the second inning, two runs came around to score thanks to a Kip Fougerousse single and a Brody Harding double.
Those two runs would be the only blemishes for either pitcher in the first half of the game, as both hurlers traded a couple of zeroes. Tristan Moore of the Hot Tots came within a couple of inches of putting an end to the armistice, with a long fly ball that appeared to be heading over the right field wall. MoonDogs right fielder Kai Roberts followed the ball to the wall, leapt up, and brought it back from over the top of the fence for a magnificent, highlight-reel play to keep the score 2-0.
With MoonDogs starter Kyler Heyne dealing on the mound, that score remained until the bottom of the fifth. Fougerousse struck again, this time with a solo shot into the Dog House Suites in right field to extend the lead to 3-0.
Heyne went back to the hill for one more inning, and though the Hot Tots finally managed to get a run across, it was unearned due to a MoonDogs error. Heyne would exit the game with six innings pitched, giving up only three hits and striking out eight. That unearned run was the only run the Hot Tots would score on Heyne.
After a scoreless seventh inning, the Hot Tots came to the plate in the eighth, still trailing 3-1, before Karson Evans led off with a no-doubt home run over the left field wall. A couple more hits in the inning gave the Hot Tots another run and tied the game at three, heading into the bottom of the eighth.
The tie would turn out to be very short-lived, as it turned out. Ty Rumsey led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later Mikey Gottschalk gave the crowd something to cheer about with a two-run home run to the video board in right field, putting the MoonDogs up 5-3.
This would turn out to be the final score of the game, as Mitch Casperson retired the Hot Tots in order in the ninth to seal the win. Fougerousse was the star for the Dogs offensively, going 4-5 with a home run, double, and two RBIs.
The MoonDogs improve to 9-9 on the season, and with the loss, the Hot Tots fall to 3-13. The Dogs head to Willmar on Saturday for the start of a six-game road trip, and will take on the Stingers at 7:05.
