Northwoods League: Willmar Stingers rally to knock off Hot Tots
Jun. 4—MINOT, N.D. — It took a while, but the Willmar Stingers won their third straight game of the season Sunday night.
Willmar beat Minot 11-8 in a Northwoods League game before 420 fans at Corbett Field.
The Stingers trailed 8-1 before tying it up with a seven-run fifth inning Willmar then scored two in the seventh and one in the ninth.
Stone Miyao went 3-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI and Steve Anderson and Jake Hjelle each homered for the Stingers.
Miyao is a second baseman from the University of Hawaii. Anderson is a third baseman from Point Loma Nazarene University and Hjelle is a first baseman from the University of Minnesota-Crookston.
The game started at 5:45 p.m., but was delayed because of rain, not ending until well after 10 p.m.
The teams conclude the two-game series at 6:35 p.m. Monday at Corbett Field. The Stingers then return home to play the St. Cloud Rox at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Willmar 100 070 201-11 17 0
Minot 320 300 000-8 9 2
Hitting — Willmar: Kevin Fitzer 1-1 r sb, Zach Stroh 1-4 r bb sb, Stone Miyao 3-5 rbi sb, Scott Anderson 1-5 r hr rbi-3, Jake Hjelle 2-4 r hr rbi hbp sb, Aidan Byrne 2-5 r-2 sb, Kyle Payne 2-5 r-2 hr rbi-2, Jonathan Lane 3-5 r-2 3b rbi-2 sb, Jordan Sagedahl 0-4 bb, Kristofer Hokenson 2-2 r 2b 3b rbi-2 bb-3 sb-2 ... Minot: Thomas Rollauer 1-3 r-2 bb hbp sb, Nic Pepe 1-4 rbi bb, Karson Evans 3-4 r-2 2b rbi-2 bb, Christian Perez 0-3 r hbp-2, Ryan Recio 2-5 r-2 hr-2 rbi-5, Thaxton Berch 1-4 bb sb, Travis Stapleton 0-3 bb, Devin Jones 0-2 bb-2, Zach Kluvers 1-2 r bb-3 sb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Ryan Wiltse 2-4-5-5-3-3, Nolan Kemp 2.2-3-3-3-4-4, Andrew Baumgart 0.1-0-0-0-1-0, Michael Chevalier (W) 2-1-0-0-1-3, Tyler Bryan 2-1-0-0-1-2 ... Minot: Gage Yost 4.1-6-4-4-2-2, CJ Sturiale 0.1-1-1-1-0-1, Trevyn Badger 0.1-3-3-3-0-0, Ayden Sauerbrei (L) 2-3-2-2-3-3, Gavin Schmitt 2-4-1-1-0-0
Kevin Fitzer, a redshirt sophomore from California State University-Northridge, went 4-for-7 with two home runs, a double, six RBIs, four runs and one stolen base to help Willmar earn its first series sweep of the season at Bismarck, North Dakota.
Fitzer's first home run, a two-run shot, came in the second inning. His second home run, another two-run shot, came in the five-run sixth inning.
Willmar 322 035 001-16 21 0
Bismarck 210 100 010-5 7 5
Hitting — Willmar: Kevin Ftizer 4-7 r-4 rbi-6 2b hr-2 sb, Stone Miyao 2-6 r sb, Scott Anderson 3-6 r rbi 2b sb, Jake Hjelle 3-7 r-2 rbi, Kyle Payne 1-4 r rbi-3, Kris Hokenson 1-5 rbi-2 3b, Zach Stroh 2-5 r-2, Jonathan Lane 1-4 r-2, Aidan Byrne 4-6 r-2 rbi sb-2 ... Bismarck: Benjamin Rosengard 0-2 r, Dylan Perry 2-5 r 2b, Luke Boykin 1-5 rbi-2, C.J. Cepicky 1-4 r 2b, Dillon Goetz 0-0 r-2, Kai Hori 1-2 2b, Grant Richars 1-3 rbi-3, Trenton Rowan 1-2
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Clay Beaumont 3-4-4-4-4-4, Chris Rofe (W) 4-1-0-0-1-5, Jalen Vorpahl 2-2-1-1-1-1 ... Bismarck: Carter Rost (L) 3-11-7-6-0-2, Ryan Taylor 3-8-8-5-4-6, Rowan 2-1-0-0-3-2, Hori 1-1-1-0-0-2
