The Hot Tots had a successful night at bat on Tuesday, but their issues on the mound still made the game an uphill battle.

Minot spent another night in Makato for their series versus the MoonDogs on Tuesday. Their first game of the series on Monday night ended with a Hot Tots victory 12-5.

The first inning of the game promised another exciting night for Minot with the Hot Tots taking an early 2-0 lead. The first run came off of a double into right field by Charlie Kalbrener to bring Matt Toomey home. Minot’s Max Ortega was thrown out at first during the very next at bat, but not before Henry Allen could score. The score was 2-0 for the Hot Tots after the top of the first.

Camden Dimidjian was the starting pitcher for the Hot Tots on Tuesday. Josey Williamson was the first batter for the MoonDogs and was hit on only the second pitch of the at bat. The rest of the half was not much better for the Hot Tots. Dimidjian walked another MoonDog batter and a dropped throw to home let the MoonDogs tie the score 2-2 by the end of the first inning.

The second inning was uneventful for Minot offensively, but Mankato’s Williamson was once again hit by a pitch thrown by Dimidjian. Dimidjian was able to pick up two strikeouts to end the inning before the MoonDogs could score.

The Hot Tots went three up and three down in the third and Williamson was at bat once again to start the bottom of the inning for the MoonDogs. Once again, Dimidjian pinged Williamson with a pitch and got him on base for the second time in as many at bats. A ground rule double over the center field fence gave the MoonDogs their first lead of the game with a score of 2-3.

Minot continued to struggle during the top of the fourth and ended the half without scoring any runs. Their defense also continued to struggle with Mankato scoring an additional run to further widen their lead with a new score of 2-4. It was in the bottom of the fourth that Braedon Davis switched onto the pitcher’s mound, but not before Dimidjian could hit Makato’s Williamson for a third time. At this point in the game, Williamson had been hit by a pitch during every single one of his at bats.

Minot continued to struggle defensively through the rest of the bottom of the fourth, allowing three more runs before they could end the inning, bringing the score to 2-7 for the MoonDogs heading into the fifth.

Minot started to claw their way back onto the scoreboard during the top of the fifth. After Max Ortega was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Mankato walked Christian Startis and Will Smoot in back-to-back at bats to bring the score to 4-7. A double play at first and second base allowed Ortega to run home, bringing the score to 5-7.

Davis struggled once again on the mound in the bottom of the fifth, hitting another batter, the fifth MoonDog batter hit by a pitch this game. Mankato scored an additional two points to bring the score to 5-9 by the end of the inning.

The Hot Tots fought hard once again in the top of the sixth. The Hot Tots were able to bring another two home on a two run RBI single to bring the score to 7-9 at the end of the half.

By the start of the bottom of the sixth, the MoonDOgs had only allowed three walks, but the Hot Tots allowed a total of ten free passes, including all of the walks and batters hit by pitches. The Hot Tots switched Austin Puett onto the mound in the bottom of sixth and did not allow a single run from the MoonDogs.

TJ Stottlemyer hit a two run RBI in the top of the seventh to tie the game 9-9 before deadline. Check Thursday’s paper for game results.