MoonDogs Wrap up Season with Sunday Win over Honkers
Published on August 11, 2019 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Mankato MoonDogs News Release
Mankato, Minn. - The Mankato MoonDogs won their season finale against the Rochester Honkers 10-6 on Sunday afternoon. The Dogs got it done by scoring in bunches, amounting four multi-run frames in the ballgame.
Rochester got on the board in the third. It came from lone RBI by Mitchell Allen (New Mexico State University) who hit a single and A.J. Miller (Oregon) who slapped a double. The Honkers held a two-run lead after the top half however, the Dogs had other plans.
The MoonDogs responded quick in the bottom half by plating a pair of runs. Nick Novak (Angelo State) drew a walk that allowed Tanner Craig (Evansville) to score with ease. Mikey Perez (UCLA) later drove in Brett Newberg (Austin Peay) via a sacrifice fly. The score was all even at 2-2 after the third inning.
The Honkers took the lead again in the fifth just to turn it over to the MoonDogs. After Rochester left the yard with a solo shot the Dogs put up a three spot to counter for a two-run lead. A defensive miscue allowed Novak to score with ease after he stole to bases prior to begin the at bat on third. Jake Moberg (UCLA) had a big hit when he doubled to score Cuba Bess (Grand Canyon) and Perez. The score was 5-3 after the fifth frame at The Frank.
The fifth inning became a trend and repeated itself in the sixth. The Honkers hit another solo home run just to get outscored in the frame 3-1 a second time. Mankato did it with big power the second time around. Bess blasted a two-run home run and Josh Elvir (Angelo State) followed it up two batters later with another one, but it was a solo shot instead. The MoonDogs led the game 8-4 through six on Sunday.
A wild pitch in the seventh and another solo home run in the eighth brought the Honkers within two for a short while. Then the Dogs put it to rest, tallying another pair in the bottom half of the eighth to put the game on ice. A wild pitch and sac fly hit by Elvir got it done to increase the lead to 10-6. The game was wrapped up in the ninth when solid relief pitching struck out the side.
Player Notables:
Player of the Game for the MoonDogs at The Frank was Moberg. He hit his way to a 2-for-5 day that saw him hit a double that put a pair of RBI on the board and his line.
Eric Newman (Crown College) earned the win as the Dog's starter in his first outing playing the starter role for Mankato. He went six innings, allowed seven hits, four runs, two walks and retired a trio on strikes. Damon Maynard (Olney Central CC), the everyday catcher, came in for his first relief pitching appearance in the seventh. He was hit off once and allowed a run and mixed in a walk to his bullpen outing. Newly acquired, Dalton Hinsch (Northern Iowa) made his MoonDogs debut in the eighth. He surrendered a pair of hits that resulted in a run. He also walked one in the process but retired three. Jack Pilcher (Butler), the MoonDogs closer, pitched the ninth. He gave up a hit but struck out the side to notch the Dogs final outs of the 2019 season.
The Honker's starter was Evan Layne (Lake Erie College) on Sunday afternoon. Layne pitched four frames and surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked a pair and struck out a trio of MoonDogs batters. Rochester's reliever, Casey Nimmo (San Diego Mesa), pitched in the fifth and was handed the loss for surrendering the lead. The Dogs scored three runs (one earned) against Nimmo. A pair of hits and a walk did most the damage.
Due up for the Dogs:
Today's game was the finale to the 18th season of Mankato MoonDogs Baseball. Following the 10-6 victory over the Honkers on Sunday, they finished the 2019 campaign with a 36-36 record.
Northwoods League Stories from August 11, 2019
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