BISMARCK, ND – There were fireworks after the game on Monday night. There were also some during it.

The Bismarck Larks (16-19) and the Willmar Stingers (18-17) engaged in what could only be described as a barn burner on Monday night, and the Larks rallied late to outlast the Stingers and win 15-13.

It was a wild night at the ballpark to say the least. So, before we go any further, here’s a quick boxscore:

Willmar: 13 runs, 11 hits, one error.

Bismarck: 15 runs, 18 hits, six errors.

What a night.

Out of the gates, the Larks looked like they were going to control the game when they hit two home runs in the first inning. First, Austin Paschke launched a solo shot to center field, then Scooter Bynum laced a two-run shot to left to make it 3-0 early.

The score remained 3-0 until the 4th inning, and that was when the tides completely turned. The Stingers rattled off four runs on three hits and one Bismarck error to take a 4-3 lead. Nolan Bumstead started the inning with a solo home run.

Willmar held the Larks scoreless in the bottom half, and it turned out to be the only scoreless inning the game would see until the 9th.

Tyler Steele pitched 5.1 innings for the Larks and ultimately gave up 10 runs, but only three of them were earned. In the 5th inning, the Stingers added four more runs on just two hits and three Bismarck errors.

The Larks responded in their half with three runs on three hits. This would be the theme for the rest of the game.

Willmar added two more runs in the 6th inning, one in the 7th, and two in the 8th. The Stingers put up 13 runs on the night, but only five of them were earned runs charged to Larks pitchers. The six errors made Larks pitchers throw a lot of extra pitches in the game, and the score continued to rise as a result.

Fortunately, the Larks refused to let defensive mistakes impact their offense.

After the Stingers scored four runs in the 5th, the Larks responded with three in their half.

In the sixth, the Stingers added two, and the Larks matched them thanks to a Luke Waldek two-run home run.

The seventh inning saw one Stingers run, and the Larks got two on a two-run opposite field blast from Connor Perry, the Larks fourth home run of the game.

In the eighth, the Larks finally got back on top. After two Stinger runs, they trailed 13-10 entering the bottom half. The first three batters reached base, and it set up a bases loaded scenario for Ryan Anderson.

Anderson singled to right field to make it 13-11. Newt Johnson then worked an eight pitch at-bat before lining a ball off of Calvin Coker’s foot on the mound. The ball bounced to first baseman Danny Rodriguez, and his throwing error to home allowed Noah Sadler and Bynum to score. This tied the game at 13.

Coker could not continue, so the Stingers put shortstop Nate Sterijevski in to pitch so as to not use another bullpen arm. Sterijevski would be the seventh different Stinger to pitch in the game.

Sterijevski struck out Quinn Irey, but then allowed a two-RBI single from Cooper Coldiron that gave the Larks a 15-13 lead.

In the top of the 9th, Jeff Lindgren retired the Stingers in order to record his fourth save on the season and secure a wild win for the Larks.

Zach Walz was the winning pitcher of record. Walz threw the eighth inning for the Larks and allowed two runs to score (one earned).

Coker was saddled with the loss after he entered the eighth inning with two runners on and nobody out. He allowed three hits was responsible for three earned runs in the inning. He failed to record an out before leaving the game after taking the line drive off of the foot.

It’s not often a team can win a game after making six errors and allowing eight unearned runs to score, but the Larks and their resiliency earned them a most improbable victory on Monday night.

This Larks team really does not quit. There were multiple times in the game when errors and bunches of Willmar runs could have taken the Larks out of the game mentally, but they never stopped responding. The team banged out 18 hits and 15 runs in an impressive offensive showing. These numbers will win you baseball games, but the defense has to tighten up or the next game like this could slip away.

Tomorrow’s Independence Day game versus the Stingers is set for a 1:05pm start time. Limited tickets are still available, so be sure to purchase them at larkstickets.com while you can and come celebrate the 4th of July with us at the ballpark!

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The Bismarck Larks are apart of the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play

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