The Mankato MoonDogs defeated the Willmar Stingers in a rain shortened game 7-1. Due to lightning and torrential downpour, the umpires called the game in the bottom of the eighth with the Dogs ahead six runs.

Mankato scored early in often, racking up four runs in the second inning alone. Max Wright (Indiana State) drove in two runs on a double, while Kenton Crews (Evansville) plated another run with his first triple of the season. Jake Ortega (Cal State Bakersfield) also contributed with his first RBI of the year.

The MoonDogs would add one run in the third and fourth inning as well, as Crews and Andrew Morales (Angelo State) both drove in a run to give the MoonDogs a commanding 6-0 lead.

For good measure, the Dogs scored another run in the sixth inning, as Austin Bull (Grand Canyon) scored on a wild pitch.

The MoonDogs were given a strong starting pitching performance from Josh Ramirez (Washburn), who spun six innings of seven hit, one run baseball. Ramirez picked up his first win of the year in the process. Blake Tritch (North Dakota State) also threw a perfect inning of relief before the game was called.

In the bottom of the eighth with Tritch on the mount in a full count, lightning began to envelop the field, causing the umpires to remove the teams from the field. Massive amounts of rain followed, and the game was called about 45 minutes later.

The MoonDogs have their first off day of the season Monday, and will play against the St. Cloud Rox at home on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05/8:05 Eastern Time.

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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit https://northwoodsleague.com/mankato-moondogs/ 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.