By: Mitchell Speltz
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs’ seven-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night in St. Cloud as they fell to the Rox, 5-1.
St. Cloud got on the board in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Justin Kirby (Kent State) to score Andrew Pinckney (Alabama) making it 1-0.
The score would remain that all the way until the sixth inning when Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) doubled into the left-field corner, scoring Kole Kaler (Hawaii) from first to tie the game.
But the Rox countered in the bottom of the inning with a pair of two-run hits by Chris Esposito (Nebraska-Omaha) and Jack Winkler (San Francisco) to make it a 5-1 St. Cloud advantage.
Pitching took over from there as St. Cloud starter Johnny Dow (Georgia Highlands) threw a complete game for the Rox as they would win 5-1, securing a split in the two-game series.
The MoonDogs (21-9) are now one game behind the Rox (22-8) in the Great Plains West Division with four games remaining in the first half.
Mankato will conclude the first half of the season with a four-game series in Bismarck against the Larks. First pitch is at 7:05 CT.
-DOGS-
The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 230 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 World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.mankatomoondogs.com 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.
