DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks (30-36 overall, 12-20 2nd half) were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 8-5 loss in the home finale of the 2026 season against the Willmar Stingers (36-30 overall, 20-10 2nd half) on Tuesday Night.

Another slow start from the Big Sticks brought a cushion for the Stingers. In the top of the 1st inning, David Estrada singled and, on an errant throw from the outfield, scored Kai Gonzaga, followed by a Landon Lowe RBI single to left field.

In the top of the 3rd, Willmar struck once again off a Merrick Ropoza single to right, scoring Gonzaga for the second time. Levi Maddela singled, which plated Estrada and led to a sacrifice fly from Jehee Lee that scored Rapoza, making it 5-0.

In the bottom of the 4th, singles from Dakota Howard (Southeastern) and Cougar Cooke (Arkansas State) led to a scoring situation. After a double play, Cooke caught the defense napping, snagging third with no one paying attention, which allowed him to score on a wild pitch.

In the top of the 6th, Willmar added more insurance with three consecutive singles from Gonzaga, Estrada, and Rapoza scoring one each, extending the Stingers lead to 8-1.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, two walks from Jace Jarrett (Dawson CC) and Howard with an Evan Mann (Odessa CC) single in the middle loaded the bases for Gavyn Schlotterback (Kansas), who took the biggest swing of the game, depositing a grand slam to left field, dropping the deficit to 8-5. Unfortunately, those were the only runs Badlands could muster, ultimately falling by that score.

Now eliminated from the playoff, Badlands will take on the Willmar Stingers on the road to begin the Big Sticks four-game road stint to end the season with first pitch set for 5:35 p.m. MST.