Written by Kyle Tatelbaum

(BISMARCK, ND) – The Larks can’t complete the comeback as they fall to 1-5 vs the Stingers on the season.

The Larks drew first blood tonight, jumping on Stingers starter Ryan Wentz (California State University Northridge) with two runs in the first inning. Ryan Rivera (Palomar College) walked on five pitches to start the game, scoring on Kyle Hvidsten’s (Western Kentucky) seventh double of the season for his team-leading 38th RBI. Noah Lieb (Denison University) followed with an RBI single to right field, doubling the lead while driving in his 14th RBI in 12 games.

The best offense in the Northwoods League clapped right back, as the Stingers scored three runs on three hits and an error to pull in front. The inning started with three consecutive singles from Brett Blair (Stanford University), Casey Murray JR (Cal Poly), and Nico Senese (Georgia Southern), with Senese scoring both baserunners on his single to center field. Senese advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt and third on a fielder’s choice, scoring the go-ahead run on an error by the Larks shortstop. 

Bismarck knotted the game at 3-3 in the third without recording a hit. TJ Laino (Kingsborough Community College) reached in his first at-bat of the season on a walk, followed by back-to-back walks from Kyle Hvidsten and Noah Lieb to load the bases. The Larks couldn’t come through with a hit, but were able to score on a wild pitch to tie the game. 

With a run in the fifth and seventh, the Stingers held a 5-3 lead entering the eighth inning. Ethan Thomas (University of Utah) provided a spark, lining a 2-2 curveball into the left-center field gap for a leadoff double. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Thomas trotted home to cut the deficit to a run on a fielder’s choice. With one out in the ninth, Ryan Rivera extended his hit streak to seven games on a seeing-eye opposite-field single in front of the left fielder. TJ Laino worked a seven-pitch walk and Kyle Hvidsten was walked intentionally to load the bases for Noah Lieb. On a 2-0 pitch, Lieb chopped a ground ball with the only play to first base, allowing Rivera to score to tie the game at 5-5 moving to extra innings. 

The extra-inning runner for the Stingers Jack Spainer (University of Minnesota), who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth stole third base and scored easily on a single from Casey Murray Jr (Cal Poly) to go ahead 6-5. 

Korey Dahlburg (Concordia University-St. Paul) entered the game for Willmar in the 10th and slammed the door, stranding the tying run 90 feet away after recording a strikeout and a lazy fly ball to center to seal the deal. With the Loss, the Larks have won two out of their last ten and fall six games out of first place in the second-half standings. The home finale before the all-star break is scheduled for 6:35 PM first pitch against the Stingers on Wednesday, July 17. Tickets can be secured at https://bismarck-larks.nwltickets.com/