MoonDogs Rally to Tie Express in Ninth Before Falling Short in Walk-Off
June 5, 2021 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Mankato MoonDogs News Release
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -ÃÂ After batting back in the later stages, the Mankato MoonDogs (4-1) dropped their first contest of the season 9-8 in the ninth inning to the Eau Claire Express (1-4), Friday.
The MoonDogs trailed the Express for a large portion of Friday's affair before rallying back to tie the game in the eighth.ÃÂ Cole Andavolgyi (Golden West College)ÃÂ hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot, to tie the game in the top of the ninth 8-8 after Mankato previously trailed 8-2.
Henry GeorgeÃÂ was the hero for Eau Claire, slapping an opposite-field game-winning hit that hugged the leftfield line to scoreÃÂ Ryan Lin-Peistrup, who reached by being hit by a pitch. It gave the Express their first win of 2021 and the MoonDogs their first loss of 2021.
Although the six-run unanswered surge came up short, the MoonDogs, now 4-1 this season, stand behind their best start to a campaign since 2016 when they started 5-0.
Matt HigginsÃÂ (Bellarmine) had another big night for Mankato. The MoonDogs' centerfielder boasted a 4-for-5 evening with a double, two RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Aside from putting up runs in each of the final four frames to make a late push back into the ballgame, the Dogs also outhit the Express 15-11 and were statistically better on the defensive end, with errors siding 2-1 in favor of the Express. Eau Claire finished the night with 10 runners left on base while Mankato left nine.
SouthpawÃÂ Jace KressinÃÂ secured his first win of the season to move to 1-0 despite surrendering three runs on four hits in the ninth, allowing the MoonDogs to tie the game.
The loss went to MoonDogs relief right-handerÃÂ Dalton MesarisÃÂ (Western Kentucky) who now owns a 1-1 record this season. Mesaris surrendered one hit after hitting a batter with a pitch in the ninth, which allowed the winning run to score from third.ÃÂ
The MoonDogs and Express rematch at Carson Park Saturday with the first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m.
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- MoonDogs Rally to Tie Express in Ninth Before Falling Short in Walk-Off - Mankato MoonDogs
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