Bismarck, ND. —The Stingers hold off a late inning surge by the Larks for a final score of 17-11. The game goes down as the fifth longest game in Northwoods League history at four hours and twelve minutes.

The Stingers scored ten runs in the top of the first inning. Hits, walks, and wild pitches all advanced runners’ home. The Stingers were three batters away from batting around three times in the inning. McKenzie, Bohning, Bosetti, & King all tallied hits for Willmar bring the score to 10-0. The Stingers scored three more runs in the fourth inning. James Gamble (UNLV) scored Walsh from third on a single to center. Tyler Bosetti (Nevada), two batters later, had a base knock that brought in Bowman. Justin King (Alabama) scored the last run of the inning when his sacrifice fly scored Gamble from third. 13-0 Stingers.

Chris Peres (La Verna) started on the mound for the Stingers. He pitched five innings and received the win. Peres held the Larks scoreless until the fifth inning when two runs scored off two hits and one error. 14-2 Stingers. In the sixth inning, Ryan Johnson (Pepperdine) walked with the bases loaded to bring in King. 15-2 Stingers. Bismarck started their rally in the seventh as they scored nine unanswered runs. Three runs scored off three hits in the seventh for the Larks. The game really got interesting in the eighth when the Larks loaded the bases with no outs. Six runs ended up scoring off one hit for Bismarck. The Larks climbed back into the game by a score of 15-11.

In the top of the ninth, the Stingers were able to manufacture some insurance runs. Bosetti and Riley Johnson (Augustana, SD) were able to score off back-to-back wild pitches. 17-11 Stingers. Bryant Claunch (North Alabama) came into to pitch in the ninth inning. One error was committed by the Stingers but Claunch sent the Larks down in order after that. Willmar holds off Larks by a score of 17-11.

Game 2 of the series will be back at Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck, North Dakota. This will be the last time the two teams see each other in the 2019 season. First pitch 1:05pm CT!