The Mankato MoonDogs’ bats ran rampant in Tuesday night’s 18-2 blowout win over the Minot Hot Tots in a Northwoods League baseball game at ISG Field.
“The bats were jumping,” MoonDogs general manager Tyler Kuch said “It seemed like everyone was hitting the ball real hard. And that’s awesome to see, especially towards the end of a long homestand.”
The defenses for each team were shaky early, with the teams combining for five errors in the first two innings. Right fielder Max Williams got the fun started for the MoonDogs in the first inning with a two-run home run, driving in Dustin Crenshaw.
The Mankato offense exploded in the middle of the game, with five runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the sixth. The onslaught was led by catcher Brendan Hord, who hit two three-run homers, one in both the fifth and sixth innings, finishing the game with 10 total bases and seven RBIs.
“It felt great,” Hord said. “You can’t get caught with the flow of summer, where you lift in the morning and have the game later, and you do that every day. You just gotta take it a day at a time.”
Williams and Crenshaw also swung the bat well. Williams had a double and a two-RBI single to go with his first-inning home run. Crenshaw drove in a pair of runs and went 3 for 5 with a triple.
Williams left the game in the seventh inning.
John Lundgren picked up the win for the MoonDogs, who are now 4-4 in the second half of the season. Saul Soto is credited with the loss for Minot, which fell to 3-5.
Relief pitcher Tanner Shumski, who pitched at Mankato West and Minnesota State, threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
The MoonDogs (23-18) play a split doubleheader with Minot on Wednesday at ISG Field, with game times of 12:05 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.