Willmar takes game one over Duluth 10-5
Matthew Hargrove, matthewhargrove0834@gmail.com
Duluth, MN – The Willmar Stingers put up seven runs in the sixth inning that gave Willmar their eventual dominating 10-5 victory over the Duluth Huskies. Stinger shortstop Chris Campos led the Willmar offense, circulating three hits in six at bats. Starting pitcher for the Stingers in Josh Wintroub showed grit after giving up two runs in the first inning, to officially end his stat line allowing three runs over five innings of work. Monday night’s win places the Stingers ahead of Duluth in the season series 4-3 with one more contest left between the two.
All tied up at three going into the top of the sixth, head coach Marcus Pointer decided to replace starting pitcher Ben Pedersen for Xavier Fossbenner. Bases loaded and two outs in the top half, Fosbenner granted a two RBI single to catcher Drey Dirksen that showed Willmar snatching their first lead of the game at 5-3. Fosbenner was later replaced by Richard Kiel, who plunked the first batter he faced in first baseman Tate Meiners to increase the Stingers lead to 6-3.
The next batter in second baseman Brady Counsell shot a towering pop fly into shallow right field that fell in between second baseman Drew Grindhal and right fielder Calyn Halvorson. With Counsell Steaming towards second, Halvorson threw the ball into left field trying to gun down Counsell at the bag. As a result, Counsell scored on what would go down as a little league home run, thus plating home the seventh run of the inning. The Stingers led 10-3 after the nightmare was over.
Two runs came across for Duluth in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was the only offensive production they could nudge. Willmar would go on to take game one by a final of 10-5.
Five games remain on the 2021 schedule now for the Huskies, and with Eau Claire’s victory over La Crosse tonight Duluth is two games up on both squads. The magic number now moves to four for the Huskies in order for a postseason berth.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.duluthhuskies.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Huskies as your favorite team.
