(Rochester, Minn.) – The Willmar Stingers pitching staff held the Rochester Honkers to just two runs to help them secure a 4-2 win on Tuesday at Bill Taunton Stadium. The win gives the Stingers their fourth straight win and improves their second half record to 5-2 and 27-15 overall. The Honkers are now 2-5 and 19-24.
Rochester starting pitcher Cole Quintanilla (Texas) gave the Honkers his best outing of the year allowing just one run in five innings of work. The right-hander allowed seven hits and struck out four. Zach Sundine (Lamar CC) took the loss in relief after surrendering two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Ryan Dorney (St. Martin’s) tossed 1 1/3 innings giving up one run on one hit.
Alex McGarry (Oregon State) recorded the only multi-hit game for the Honkers. McGarry went 3-for-4 to give him his third three-hit game of the year.
The Stingers got on the board in the third as Jaxon Hallmark (Nebraska) came around to score on a wild pitch and give Willmar a 1-0 lead.
Mike Peabody (UC Irvine) led off the fourth with a single for the Honkers and was able to come around to score on a wild pitch to tie the game at one.
The Honkers took the lead in the sixth as Andy Armstrong (Oregon State) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1.
The Stingers came back with a run of their own in the sixth. Eli Wilson (Minnesota) came around to score on a double play to even up the score at two.
The Stingers took a 3-2 lead in the seventh as Matt Rudick (San Diego State) came around to score on a throwing error.
Rudick gave the Stingers an insurance run in the eighth on a RBI double to give the Stingers a 4-2 lead.
Noah Fluman (San Diego State) recorded his first win on the mound for the Stingers. Fluman tossed two scoreless innings and struck out three.
The Honkers and Stingers will rematch on Wednesday at Bill Taunton Stadium. Darin Kilfoyl (Saint Johns River State) is scheduled to make his fifth start for Rochester. Kilfoyl has recorded a 2.70 ERA and has a 1-0 record. Kilfoyl will be up against Matt Ornelas (Nova Southeastern) from Willmar, Ornelas has posted a 2-0 record and a 1.28 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Honkers as your favorite team.
