Written by: Reese Lannon<\/p>\n
The Mankato MoonDogs will return five players from 2022\u2019s 40-28 squad, including multiple
\nregulars from a lineup that was one of the Northwoods League\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
The players returning are catcher Ari Armas (San Diego), infielder Dustin Crenshaw (Grand
\nCanyon), outfielder Easton Fritcher (Minnesota), left-handed pitcher John Lundgren (North
\nAlabama) and utilityman Angelo Peraza.<\/p>\n
Armas, a sophomore at USD, was an on-base machine for Mankato in 2022. He slashed
\n.274\/.475\/.381 with three home runs and 20 RBI while sporting a near 3-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio
\n(35-12). Armas\u2019s .855 OPS also ranked third among regulars in the MoonDog lineup.<\/p>\n
Crenshaw, a Junior at GCU, returns for his second year in Mankato and his third overall in the
\nNorthwoods League. Playing multiple positions for the team last summer, he slashed a solid
\n.284\/.387\/.417 with three home runs and 22 RBI while also swiping six bases.<\/p>\n
Fritcher, a Minnesota native, latched on with the MoonDogs down the stretch run after
\ngraduating high school. The current Minnesota freshman hit an impressive .327 in 52 at-bats
\nduring his stay in Mankato. He also knocked in four runs and stole three bases.<\/p>\n
Lundgren, returning for his third straight year in Mankato and his fourth in the Northwoods
\nLeague, accumulated the third most innings on the pitching staff in 2022. Overall, the left-hander
\nfrom North Alabama had a 3-3 record in 12 games (seven starts) with a 5.08 ERA and just 12
\nwalks in 44.1 innings. Overall between 2021 and 2022 in the black and orange, he has
\naccumulated an even 90 innings of work and has pitched in 33 career games.<\/p>\n
Peraza, a Junior at USD, played in 18 games for Mankato last summer, hitting .241 and stealing
\nsix bases. At San Diego in 2022, he achieved an OPS north of .800 while seeing most of his
\naction in right field.<\/p>\n
The MoonDogs will open the 2023 season against the Thunder Bay Border Cats on May 29th at
\nISG Field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by: Reese Lannon The Mankato MoonDogs will return five players from 2022\u2019s 40-28 squad, including multiple regulars from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27,1,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-categories","category-announcements","category-archives","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\n