Willmar, Minn.—The Stingers drop one to the Rox in the opening game of the series. The final score was 8-6 in favor of St. Cloud. The Stingers will travel to St. Cloud tomorrow to complete the series.

The Stingers jumped out to an early lead when John Trousdale (Alabama) scored Stanke on a two out single in the first. 1-0 Stingers. Willmar had three hits in the second inning. It was Branden Boissiere (Arizona) that had the base knock scoring Baier to put the Stingers up 2-0.

John Bezdicek (Southwest Minn. State) was the starter for the Stingers. Bezdicek was solid through three innings then ran into trouble in the fourth. The Rox were able to score four runs off four hits. The home run continues to plague the Stingers as a two-run homerun initiated the scoring. The Stingers got out of the inning with a double play from Jake Marsh (Bethel) on the mound. 4-2 Rox.

The Stingers answered with runs of their own in the fourth. Boissiere reached first on an error by the second basemen scoring Kaden Fowler (Georgia). The next batter, Justin King (Alabama), singled to right scoring Baier. Tyler Bosetti (Nevada) drove in King with a single, but before that, Boissiere scored on a wild pitch in the same at-bat. 6-4 Stingers.

The Rox went on to score four unanswered runs across four innings. The Stingers had opportunities including a runner on third with one out but were unable to capitalize. The Rox pitching was dominant in relief from the fifth inning on. The Rox defeated the Stingers by a final score of 8-6. The Stingers look to bounce back against St. Cloud tomorrow at Joe Faber Field.