MANKATO, Minn.<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The Mankato MoonDogs returned to ISG Field for their first home game in nine days, dropping a close 7-6 contest to the Willmar Stingers.<\/p>\n
After a scoreless first inning, the Stingers struck first in the top of the second when Kyler Proctor (Austin Peay) hit a solo home run to put Willmar ahead 1-0.<\/p>\n
The MoonDogs answered quickly in the bottom half of the frame. Sam Erickson (Texas A&M) launched a two-run home run, driving in two and putting Mankato ahead 2-1.<\/p>\n
Willmar recaptured the momentum in the third inning with a solo home run to tie the game, followed by an additional run to take a 3-2 lead into the fourth.<\/p>\n
Following a scoreless top of the fourth by the Stingers, Mankato’s offense sparked a two-out rally. Jack Mislan (Lafayette College) and Tanner Kern (University of San Diego) hit back-to-back singles to put runners on base. Drew McConnell (University of Evansville) followed with a clutch, bases-clearing double to reclaim the lead for the MoonDogs, 4-3.<\/p>\n
Following scoreless fifth and sixth innings, Willmar retook the lead in the seventh with a three-run home run, pulling ahead 6-4.<\/p>\n
Mankato chipped away at the deficit in the eighth inning when Erickson drove in another run with an RBI single, cutting the Stingers’ lead to 6-5.<\/p>\n
Willmar added a single run to their lead in the ninth, winning with a final score of 7-5.<\/p>\n
The MoonDogs hit the road tomorrow as they travel to North Dakota to face the Bismarck Larks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.<\/p>\n
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in developing elite college baseball players. Having completed its\u2019 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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 410 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019\/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (NYM).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANKATO, Minn.\u00a0\u2013 The Mankato MoonDogs returned to ISG Field for their first home game in nine days, dropping a close […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17403,"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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"yoast_head":"\n