On a day filled with unpredictable weather and unbelievable baseball the Mankato MoonDogs came out on top for the first game of their 2024 season!
Louis Magers (Minnesota State University Mankato) started on the mound for Mankato mowing down La Crosse in order to start the game, however that was his only inning pitched.
Before the MoonDogs stepped up to the plate the game was delayed due to rain and lightning. This delay lasted around an hour and caused Magers to not return to the game.
La Crosse came out and scored the first runs of the game in the second inning, Cooper Brass (New Mexico) drove in two runs on an RBI single.
Mankato came out in the bottom of the second on fire scoring 4 runs to claim the lead, Matthew Fleischacker (Minnesota State Mankato) drove in two with a double and Carter Thomas (Wayne State College) drove in another two with a rip into left field.
The scoring continued for both teams in the third with La Crosse scoring one in the top off an RBI single from Luke Davis (Long Beach City), and Mankato scoring two more runs off yet another two RBI inning from Fleischacker with his single.
La Crosse scored two more in both the 4th and 5th inning, Rj Hamilton (Vanderbilt) drove two in for the 4th, and Trevor Schmidt (LSU) with another two RBI’s off a double in the 5th.
The scoring stopped for both teams for a couple innings off the impressive relief pitching of Tate Hess (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Tate Marland (Cedarville University). Each went multiple innings shutting down either offense.
Mankato tied it up in the 8th with an RBI triple from Carter Thomas which would eventually send the game into extra innings.
La Crosse took the lead in the top of the 10th however it wasn’t enough. Fleischacker drove in RBI’s 5 and 6 for him on the day, walking it off in the bottom of the 10th for Mankato with a final score of 9-8.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play
