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Published On: September 27th, 2013

THUNDER BAY, Ontario –  Back-to-back RBI doubles by Jarid Scarafiotti (Stephen F. Austin) and Mitch Rowan (Willamette) in the ninth inning propelled Willmar to a 6-4 victory over Thunder Bay at Port Arthur Stadium Friday night.

Willmar grabbed its first lead of the game in the fourth inning with two runs on two hits. Anthony Bemboom (Creighton) led off the inning with a double and Jason Leblebijian (Bradley) followed with his second RBI triple in as many games. Leblebijian then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake Stinnett (Maryland). Stinnett leads the Northwoods League with 15 RBIs this season.

The Stingers added to their lead in the eighth inning with a two-run double by Bemboom. Bemboom finished the game 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and one run scored. His double in the eighth made the score 4-1 at the time, but Thunder Bay tied the game in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run homer by Matt Stevens.

Willmar responded with two runs in the final frame to take the victory and improve to 8-8 on the season. Jason West (Stephen F. Austin) earned his third save of the year by striking out three hitters in the ninth inning. Kurt Spomer (Creighton) picked up the victory.

Tanner Banks (Salt Lake College) received a no-decision in a quality start. Banks went 6 1/3 innings, allowing only one run on six hits. Banks struck out six batters and now has 20 for the season. His season ERA is 0.93 in 19 1/3 innings pitched.

The Stingers will now play two home games against Duluth over the weekend, beginning with American Cancer Society Night presented by Duininck, Inc. First pitch for Saturday’s game will be at 7:05 p.m.

There will be 12 pink MaxBats used by players in the game, which will be autographed by the entire team and auctioned during the game. Thanks to Duininck, Inc., 100 percent of all proceeds from the auction will be given to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. Bidding on the bats has already begun. Starting bids for these collector item will be at $100 each and bids can be e-mailed to nick@willmarstingers.com. Please include your bid, name, phone number, and the bat number (#1 – #12) you wish to bid on. On-line bidding will continue until the top of the 9th inning of Saturday’s game.

The 2011 season is presented by Charter.