Photo captured by Dylan Engel (Mankato MoonDogs)
Written by: Connor Wachtel
MANKATO, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs were shutout by the St. Cloud Rox, 11-0, in a game of Northwoods League baseball at ISG Field, Friday night.
With the loss, the MoonDogs fell to 10-9 on the season while the Great Plains West-leading Rox improved to 13-3 on the summer.
The Rox struck first on Friday when Charlie Condon (Georgia) singled to score Brice Matthews (Nebraska). Early in Mankato, the Rox led the MoonDogs 1-0 after one inning of play and never looked back en route to picking up the win.
It took until the sixth inning for another run to cross the plate. Again, it was the Rox touching the plate in the form of three runs to take a 4-0 lead in the sixth. The Rox piled it on after that by scoring three more runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and another three in the ninth to claim an 11-0 victory in enemy territory.
Picking up his first win in his first start and third appearance of the summer was Rox right-handed pitcher Brayden Gainey (Alabama). Gainey threw five innings of shutout baseball with three hits, three walks and three strikeouts.
Starting on the mound and coming down with the loss after pitching five and a third innings on the hill was Donovan Schultz (Evansville). Schultz fell to 2-1 on the season in the loss. He surrendered four hits and three runs while walking five and striking out four in his third outing of the summer.
The MoonDogs and Rox rematch for the finale of the home-and-home series at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.
-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’ 28th 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 280 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 (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist 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 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. 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.
