(Willmar, M.N.)- There’s good scoring nights in baseball. And then there’s what the Willmar Stingers had Friday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.

The Stingers erupted for 18 runs on 17 hits to smother Waterloo, taking down the Bucks 18-7 to open up a three-game series.

With Willmar leading by just a game over Waterloo in the Pod, the Stingers needed a strong performance to maintain their lead in the standings. They got started with that strong performance in the first inning.

The Stingers had five cross the plate in the first, including a two-RBI single from Jayson Newman and runs driven in by Cesar Lopez, Brennan McKenzie and Ryan Johnson.

The Stingers continued their offensive juggernaut with a four-run third, headlined by another two-RBI knock from Newman.

Willmar continued to add runs as the innings progressed, including a home run off the bat of Brooks Lee. His two-run blast marked his first bomb of the season and his second hit of the day.

John Bezdicek, Willmar’s starter, was back to his usual excellence on the mound. He pitched six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He also fanned six, earning himself his second win of the season.

Waterloo added some runs in the later innings, but at that point, it was too little too late. Willmar added five more runs in the eighth inning for insurance as Waterloo through starting first basemen Patrick Ferguson on the mound in the inning. A big double by Jayson Newman drove in two runs in the inning, as well as an RBI apiece from Asa Aubrey, Deylan Pigford, and Brennan McKenzie.

On the night, Jayson Newman finished with a whopping six RBI as part of his four-hit night.

Willmar improves to 14-6 on the season and moves two game ahead of Waterloo for first place in the Minnesota/Iowa Pod.

The two teams play twice tomorrow in a day/night doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for 1:05 pm.