Although the Minot Hot Tots were unable to keep pace with the Mankato MoonDogs on Wednesday night, they saw another group of debuting players make a nice first impression. With two new hitters and three new pitchers, there was a lot to learn at Corbett Field last night.

Catcher Connor Dietsch and right fielder Alex Altmann were the two new names on the lineup card Wednesday. Dietsch, a junior backstop from UC Irvine, went 1-for-3 with two walks and a run batted in. Defensively, Dietsch threw out a Mankato base-stealer to end the second inning.

As for Altmann, he came to Minot after seven games with the Willmar Stingers. The University of New Mexico commit also went 1-for-3 at bat with two walks and two runs scored. Altmann just missed out on a home run in the second inning, a part of his game the Hot Tots are excited to see in the second half.

On the mound, Alex Moran, Dane Grant and Ian Allen all got their first taste of the Northwoods League. Moran was the first reliever called in to the game, replacing the game’s starter, Cade Dickinson. Moran would get Minot out of the third inning, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Three MoonDog runs would score against Moran, boosting Mankato’s lead to 8-0.

As the Hot Tot offense started scoring, Dane Grant kept the MoonDogs off the board in the fifth inning. That combination brought the Tots within two runs of the lead by the sixth inning.

Mankato would get back to the basepaths as Ian Allen took over the pitching role in the sixth. Three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch brought across two MoonDog runs.

In the top of the eighth, Mankato drove in the final nails of a Wednesday win, tacking on four runs to go up 14-6.

Minot’s comeback efforts yielded one run, not enough to topple the MoonDogs. The 14-7 final score brings both teams’ record to 1-1 in the second half of the season. Minot will carry on with their six-game homestand on Thursday when they host the Badlands Big Sticks. Besides being a rivalry game, the Hot Tots will be hosting Military Appreciation Night at Corbett Field. First pitch is at 6:35 pm.