WILLMAR, Minn. – Jerad McCrummen pitched seven dominant innings, allowing only one run on seven hits to improve to 4-1 on the year in a Stingers victory against St. Cloud, 5-2, Thursday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.

McCrummen (Texas Tech) has allowed only one earned run in five of his seven starts this season and lowered his ERA to 2.68 Thursday. Willmar (25-18) scored in four straight innings from the third through the sixth to take a 5-1 lead over the Rox (13-30).

Mitch Rowan (San Francisco) gave the Stingers the initial lead with an RBI single in the third to score Matt Jackson (Washington) for the first run of the game for either team. Rowan finished the game 1-for-3 and now has seven RBIs in the team’s last six games. Jackson ended the game 1-for-4.

The Stingers added to their lead in the fourth when Corben Green (Louisiana Monroe) led off the inning with a double to right field and scored two batters later on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Zach Benson (Stephen F. Austin). Green’s double extended his hitting streak to 18 games, which is the 10^th longest streak in Northwoods League history. Benson’s 12^th RBI gave the Stingers a 2-0 lead after four innings.

Willmar tacked on another run in the fifth inning when Hunter Dozier (Stephen F. Austin) singled to left field to drive home Forrestt Allday (Central Arkansas), who reached on a one-out single, for his 29^th RBI of the year.

St. Cloud scored its first run of the game in the sixth inning after Chris Paul hit a leadoff triple and scored one batter later on an error. The teams combined for seven errors in the contest. Leading 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Willmar scored its final two runs of the game on an error by St. Cloud’s starting pitcher Andy Urban. Green and Max Kuhn (Kentucky) each scored on the play after Green and Kuhn led off the inning with a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. Kuhn went 2-for-3 in the contest and is 9-for-16 in his last four games.

With two on and one out in a 5-1 game, Brady Anderson (Florida Gulf Coast) entered in the eighth inning to record the final five outs of the contest. Anderson struck out one in the ninth as part of his 10^th save of the season.

Willmar travels to Mankato to begin a two-game road series against the MoonDogs Friday night at 7:05 p.m.
 
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.