WATERLOO, Iowa – Willmar scored 12 runs in the first four innings, including home runs by Hunter Dozier and Corben Green, but the Stingers needed a two-run single by Forrestt Allday with two outs in the 10th to ultimately secure a 14-13 victory at Riverfront Stadium Thursday night.
In a game where the Stingers led 12-2 at one point, Waterloo scored runs in four-straight innings to come back and tie the game, 12-12, in the bottom of the ninth.
With one out in the 10th inning, Zach Benson (Stephen F. Austin) walked to put the go-ahead run on base for the Stingers. Matt Jackson (Washington) singled, and both runners moved into scoring position on a groundout one batter later. With two outs and the score still tied, Allday (Central Arkansas) lined a pitch back up the middle to bring home both Benson and Jackson and give the Stingers the lead, 14-12.
Willmar scored the first run of the game when Allday and Mitch Rowan (San Francisco) began the contest with back-to-back walks and Allday scored on a throwing error into the outfield on a double steal by Allday and Rowan. It marked Rowan’s team-leading 11th stolen base of the season.
The Stingers broke the game open in the second inning with six runs on three hits. Benson led off with a walk and stolen base. Jackson singled to bring him home for his fifth RBI of the season and give the Stingers a 2-1 lead. With JD Dorgan (St. Thomas) at the plate, Jackson stole second base. Later, he stole third and scored on an error. The Stingers stole nine bases in the game, including two each for Allday, Jackson and Suchy.
After Dorgan reached on a walk, he scored three batters later on an RBI single by Dozier (Stephen F. Austin). Dozier later scored on an error, and Corben Green (Louisiana Monroe) capped off the inning with a two-run homer to right field to score Michael Suchy (Florida Gulf Coast) and give the Stingers a 7-1 lead. Green now has 14 RBIs in 14 games with Willmar.
Willmar continued to pour the offense on in the third with four runs on two hits. Benson and Jackson opened the inning with a single and walk, respectively. After Dorgan advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt, Benson scored on a wild pitch. Later in the frame, with two on and two out, Dozier crushed a ball over the left field fence to put the Stingers in front, 12-2, on his third home run of the season. Dozier finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs to give him 24.
The Stingers plated their 12th run when Kenny Roberts (Alabama) scored on a sacrifice fly by Dorgan after leading off the inning with a base on balls. All nine starters scored at least once in the ballgame. At the end of the fourth inning, Willmar had 12 runs on only six hits, but the Buck refused to go away.
Waterloo scored an unearned run in the sixth and added six more runs on three hits and two Stingers’ errors in the seventh to pull within three, 12-9. Waterloo completed the comeback with two unearned runs in the eighth and an earned run in the ninth. Willmar committed six errors in the game, while the Bucks committed four, resulting a combined 10 unearned runs in the contest.
Brady Anderson (Florida Gulf Coast) earned the victory after allowing one run in 1.1 innings while striking out one. Scott Lieser (St. Cloud State) picked up his second save of the season, coming in to record the final out in the 10th with the tying run on second base.
Willmar will play in Waterloo for the final time this season in a Friday game at 6:35 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.
