Northwoods League: Willmar's bats go silent against Bismarck

Aug. 12—WILLMAR — The Bismarck Larks found a way to cool off the Willmar Stingers' bats on Thursday night.

With three pitchers combining for 12 strikeouts and four hits allowed, Bismarck got the 3-1 victory in the Northwoods League series finale in front of 1,033 fans at Bill Taunton Stadium.

On a soggy night, Larks starter Carter Rost threw an effective six innings. The Wichita State redshirt sophomore right-hander from Osakis improved to 6-0 after striking out eight with three hits and two walks allowed.

Stephen Klenske threw two scoreless innings, striking out three. Klenske is a freshman right-hander from Palomar College.

In the ninth inning, the Stingers were close to cracking closer Adolfo Iturralde. Willmar finally got on the board when a groundout to first by Carson Hake allowed Scott Anderson to score. But with runners on second and third, Iturralde was able to strike out Nick Terrell for the final out, earning the save. Iturralde is a senior from New Mexico.

The Larks got on the board in the top of the second inning. Jake Hjelle was able to beat the throw to first base to prevent an inning-ending double play, allowing Spencer Sarringar to score in the process.

It wouldn't be until the eighth inning when Bismarck got on the board again. In that frame, Sarringar brought in a run, connecting with a two-out RBI single that brought home Adam Axtell. The Larks got another two-out RBI single in the ninth when Bradlee Preap drove in Hjelle to put his team up 3-0.

Anderson was Willmar's top hitter, going 2-for-4. Anderson is a sophomore from Point Loma Nazarene.

The Stingers (25-7 second half, 46-20 overall) wrap up the regular season Friday and Saturday with a two-game home series against the Duluth Huskies. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m.

Bismarck 010 000 011-3 6 0

Willmar 000 000 001-1 4 0

Hitting — Bismarck: Aaron Mann 1-4, Spencer Sarringar 1-3 r rbi bb sb, Kaiden Cardoso 1-3 2b hrp, Seth Surrett 1-3 bb, Jake Hjelle 1-4 2b r rbi sb, Bradlee Preap 1-2 rbi, Adam Axtell 0-2 r bb-2 ... Willmar: Scott Anderson 2-4 r, Drey Dirksen 1-4 2b sb, Dalton Pearson 1-3 sb, Carson Hake 0-2 rbi bb hbp

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Bismarck: Carter Rost (W, 6-0) 6-3-0-0-2-8, Stephen Klenske 2-0-0-0-0-3, Adolfo Iturralde (Sv, 1) 1-1-1-1-2-1 ... Willmar: Steven Brooks (L, 4-1) 4-2-1-1-2-5, Dylan Matela 2-0-0-0-1-3, Joe Ihli 2-2-1-1-2-1, Tucker Novotny 1-2-1-1-0-2