WILLMAR, Minn. – For the first time all year, the Stingers did not score a run in a ballgame, falling to Mankato by a 6-0 score Friday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.

Willmar (20-13) maintained its lead in the North Division second-half standings with St. Cloud (20-14) losing to the Waterloo Bucks, 8-6. Willmar remained a half-game in front of the Rox with two regular-season contests left.

The Stingers will host Thunder Bay to close out its 70-game schedule, while St. Cloud will travel to Rochester for its final two games Saturday and Sunday. Whoever wins the second half will face Mankato in the Northwoods League Playoffs, which begin Monday, Aug. 13. The MoonDogs secured their postseason berth by winning the first half.

Andrew Pulido (San Francisco) fell to 2-4 on the season after allowing six runs on nine hits in 7.2 innings. Pulido struck out seven and walked three. Mark Lukowski (Creighton) tossed the final 1.1 innings and struck out one.

The Stingers offense loaded the bases in each of the first two innings, but they could not push across a run and ended up stranding 10 runners in the contest. Half of Willmar’s six hits came in the second when Zach Benson (Stephen F. Austin) and Phil Pupillo (St. Louis) singled to begin the inning and Brennan Moore (Texas Tech) singled two batters later to load the bases. Mankato was able to escape the inning with a pop up and a strikeout.

Two Stingers had multi-hit games, including Andre Wheeler (Texas Tech), who went 2-for-4 as the team’s designated hitter. Benson had the other multi-hit performance, adding a double in the sixth inning to his single in the second.

The Stingers will begin Fan Appreciation Weekend presented by Marcus Construction against the Thunder Bay Border Cats Saturday at 7:05 p.m. There will be a fireworks show after the game.

The 2012 season is presented by Charter. For more information on your Willmar Stingers be sure to visit the West Central Tribune at www.wctrib.com.