WILLMAR, MN.- For the second straight night, the Willmar Stingers defeat the Minnesota Mud Puppies in walk-off fashion with a 5-4 victory on Tuesday.
The Stingers once again had to complete that comeback from behind the Mud Puppies scored two runs off of sac flies in the third inning off of starter Ray Cebulski.
Minnesota struck for two more in the sixth with a two-run homer from Adam Berghult extending the lead to 4-0.
That would mean that for the second straight day would have to comeback from a four-run deficit.
It wouldn’t matter.
The Stingers broke the shutout in the sixth with an RBI single from Kevin Fitzer.
In the following inning, the Stingers would receive a huge blast from Kasten Furr who brought home two for his first home run of the season and pulled Willmar within one.
A wild pitch brought home the tying run in the eighth but the Stingers were unable to add another run in the ninth which meant another day of free baseball.
Hemponix Relief Pitcher of the Game Alex Clemons ensured the Stingers would reach extra innings with three shutout frames where he recorded four strikeouts.
After Tyler Bryan picked up three strikeouts in the top of the tenth, the Stingers were down to their final out in the bottom half as MinnWest Technology Campus Player of the Game Scott Anderson came to the plate with a runner on third.
Down to his final strike, Anderson found a hole in the left side of the infield for a walk-off single to score Parker Stinson to give the Stingers the series sweep.
The Stingers will remain home to begin a two-game series with the Bismarck Larks.
For more coverage of the Stingers, visit the West Central Tribune online at www.wctrib.com.
The 2023 season is presented by J.D. Kreps Financial Group, empowering investors with powerful financial advice.
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The Willmar Stingers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.willmarstingers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Stingers as your favorite team.
