Mankato Minn – The Mankato MoonDogs fended off a late surge by the St. Cloud River Bats to win their fourth straight game on Saturday night by a final of 8-7.

The MoonDogs took a lead in the bottom of the first inning when River Bats starter Tim Verthein (UW-La Crosse) walked Zak Wasserman (Louisville) with the bases loaded to score Chris Ross (Montevallo) who lead the inning off with a single.

The MoonDogs added three runs to their lead in the third inning when Evan Frazer (Galveston) was hit by a pitch and scored on a Cody Ferrell (Seminole State) sacrifice fly. Zach Borenstein (Eastern Illinois), and Zak Wasserman both reached on walks and both scored on a wild pitch and an error by the River Bats centerfielder, respectively. The MoonDogs then added two more runs in the fourth inning to give themselves a 6-0 lead.

However, the River Bats refused to give up early, finally getting to MoonDogs starter Able Guerrero (Galveston) in the top of the fifth inning, scoring two runs on three hits. The River Bats continued to mount their comeback adding two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to draw the score to 6-4.

The MoonDogs finally answered with a Matt Reida (Kentucky) RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and a Cody Ferrell solo home run in the bottom of the eight to give the MoonDogs an 8-4 lead going into the top of the ninth.

Nervous MoonDogs fans looked on as the River Bats put up three runs on closer Nick Goody. MoonDog reliever Aaron Page (Dakota County Technical) entered the game with two outs and got River Bat C.J. Gillman (Dayton) to pop out and give the MoonDogs their fourth straight win.

The MoonDogs take on the River Bats in the final game of the series tomorrow Sunday, June 5th. Sunday is Hot Dog Hundo Night, various dollar bills will be located inside hot dog wrappers and one lucky fan will win $100 just for purchasing a hot dog.