WILLMAR–After a brutal stretch of rough weather, Sunday was a gorgeous, sunny day in west central Minnesota that played host to a pair of seven-inning Northwoods League clashes between the Willmar Stingers and the Thunder Bay Border Cats. Despite a complete game by Jeff Barto in game one, Thunder Bay scored three in the eighth inning to take down Willmar 5-2. Revenge was swift for the Stingers in the second game though, as Willmar came away with a crisp 5-1 victory.

 

The offensive story in game one was Jordan Smith’s perfect outing at the plate.  The Willmar native went four for four with four singles to inch his batting average back over .400 and ever closer to the Northwoods League lead. In game two, it was the youngster Sean Dwyer living large for the Stingers, homering to right-center to put the Stingers up 2-1 in the first inning.

 

On the mound, Willmar sent out a pair of southpaws, with Jeff Barto and Wally Marciel getting the nods. Barto was solid through seven, but faltered in the eighth to drop his record to 1-2. Marciel was brilliant in his first start of the season, going five innings while allowing a single run on five hits and walking just one Border Cat.

 

Next up for the 13-12 Stingers, it’s a rare day off followed by a four game road trip to Rochester and Mankato. Willmar returns home on July 3rd for a 7:05 pm tilt with the Mankato MoonDogs. You won’t want to miss it either, as on Fourth of July eve, the Stingers will host \”Salute to Veterans Night\” presented by Willmar VFW Post 1639. And stick around after the game for a postgame fireworks extravaganza! For tickets, call the Stingers ticket office at 320-222-2010 or visit willmarstingers.com for more information.  As always, we remind you to log on to wctrib.com for all your Stingers coverage. The 2010 season is presented by Charter.