(Rochester, Minn.) – The Mankato MoonDogs offense exploded for 19 runs and 20 hits to defeat the Rochester Honkers 19-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Mayo Field. The 19 runs and 20 hits was a team high for the MoonDogs as they improve to 19-10 on the year. The Honkers drop to 14-15.
Jaylon McLaughlin (Nevada) went 2-for-5 to give him his 13th multi-hit game of the year. Ryan Casper (Point Loma Nazarene) added two hits more hits to his season total to go along with a run scored.
Honker’s starter Ryan Dorney (St. Martin’s) was the losing pitcher and fell to 0-2 on the year after working three innings and giving up six runs.
Nick Novak (Angelo State) gave Mankato a 1-0 lead in the second as he drove in his eighth run of the year with a ground out to third.
Mankato broke the game open scoring five runs in third to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Kyle MacDonald (Arkansas State) started the rally driving in two runs with a single. Josh Elvir (Houston) followed up with a RBI ground out to second. CJ Huntley (Indiana State) hit an infield single to bring home the fourth run of the inning. Max Wright (Indiana State) capped off the scoring in the third with a RBI single of his own.
Mankato jumped right back on the Honkers in the fourth as Kyle Cuellar (UCLA) stole home to extend the lead to 7-0. Elvir drove in his second run on the game on a sacrifice fly to right.
Cuellar doubled in the fifth to bring home another run for Mankato. Jake Shepski (Xavier) launched a two-run home run to give Mankato a 12-0 lead. Shepski went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and scored three runs.
The Honkers fought back in the fifth as McLaughlin scored his 23rd run of the year on a wild pitch. Casper cut the lead to 12-2 as he scored on a wild pitch as well.
Novak got Mankato back on the board in the sixth as he singled to extend the lead to 13-2. Austin Bull (Grand Canyon) singled up the middle to bring home the second run of the inning. Cuellar pushed the 14th run of the game home for Mankato with a ground out.
Rochester showed some life in the seventh as Mike Peabody (UC Irvine) grounded out to second to bring home a run. Alex Baeza (Hawaii) came around to score on a wild pitch to make the score 14-4.
Mankato wasn’t done as they came back with a big five run eighth inning. Novak began the scoring with a towering three-run home run. Novak finished the game with five RBIs. Blaze Glenn (Youngstown State) walked with the bases loaded to bring home a run. Huntley was hit by a pitch to bring home a run and bring the score to 19-4.
Jordan Jackson (Nevada) was awarded with the win for the MoonDogs, he threw 1 1/3 scoreless to move to 2-1 on the year.
The Honkers and the MoonDogs will rematch tonight in Mankato at 7:05 p.m. to complete the double header. Zak Devermann (Illinois) is scheduled to pitch for the Honkers, he has posted a 5.31 ERA and a 1-2 record. Devermann will be matched up against Jacob Nagel (Bellarmine) who has a 3.21 ERA and a 1-2 record.
###
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Honkers as your favorite team.
