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WILLMAR, Minn. – Scott Lieser (St. Cloud State) struck out 10 batters in his first six innings of work and remained in the game for a total of 7 2/3 innings, allowing only one run on five hits as part of a 3-1 victory for the Willmar Stingers against the Mankato MoonDogs Friday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Lieser’s 10 punchouts set a new franchise record for a single game, surpassing Charley Olson’s nine-strikeout performance against the Rochester Honkers on June 17, 2010. Lieser improved to 3-5 for the season while lowering his ERA to 4.72.
Ricky Knapp (Florida Gulf Coast) retired all four batters he faced in relief of Lieser to close the game and earn his first save of the year. Knapp struck out two hitters in 1 1/3 innings to improve his season strikeout-to-walk ratio to 42-to-4.
The Stingers took their first lead in the game when Garrett Borba (Pacific) reached on a throwing error by Nick Judkins and scored two batters later on an RBI fielder’s choice by Jason Leblebijian (Bradley). Leblebijian finished the game 1-for-4 with his team-leading 32nd RBI of the season.
The first three batters of the sixth inning reached for the Stingers, led off by a double by Eduardo Gonzalez (Alcorn State). Pat Stover (Santa Clara) followed with a single, and then Sean Dwyer (Florida Gulf Coast) drove Gonzalez home with an RBI single. Dwyer went 2-for-4 in the game, while Stover was 3-for-4 with an RBI single, which he picked up in the seventh inning when he brought home Borba to give the Stingers a 3-0 lead. Borba finished the contest 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Willmar and Mankato will play a split doubleheader Saturday with games beginning at 1:05 and 7:05 p.m. Fans will need separate tickets for each contest. Prior to the 7:05 game will be Wine, Women and Baseball Night presented by Westside Liquor & Q102. Pre-game wine tasting, pampering stations, food and more will be a part of this special event. Tickets still remain for Wine, Women and Baseball. Contact the Stingers office for more details on purchasing tickets to the pre-game event.
The 2011 season is presented by Charter.