Written by Dain Solberg
Photo Courtesy of Dennis Benson
The Matchup: The Willmar Stingers (23-7) travel to Thunder Bay, Canada to take on the Border Cats (16-12) for a four game series with the opener on June 30. The Stingers will travel back to Willmar after finishing the last game of the road trip on July 3.
Probable Pitchers: Mitch Gutknecht (Minnesota State Mankato) will be on the mound for Willmar. Gutknecht (2-0) has collected 24 strikeouts and 4 free passes in four appearances. He posts a 1.23 ERA this season.
Peyton Fosher (University of Nevada) will be on the hill for Thunder Bay. Fosher (6-2) has totaled 11 strikeouts and has allowed eight free passes in six appearances in 2023. He posts a 3.71 ERA this season.
Great Plains West Champs: Last night, the Stingers clinched a spot in the 2023 Northwoods League playoffs as they took down the Bismarck Larks 13-1 in front of the home fans at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Keys to the Series:
- Heads up Baserunning
- Run Production (Leads NWL in RBI)
- Score Early (Baribeau NWL Pitcher of Night in last series)
Hometown Kid: The Willmar native Drey Dirksen (Augustana University) will be on the radar of Stingers fans and MLB scouts alike as he was named NWL player of the night after his performance last night against the powerful Bismarck Larks. Dirksen finished the day going 3-for-5 this included two big flies (20 career home runs) to give the Stingers leads in both occurrences. Dirksen goes into the Canada road trip with a .266 batting average.
Offensive Weapon: Infielder Travis Chestnut (Texas A & M) leads all Border Cat hitters in batting average and on base percentage categories. Chestnut is batting .400 and holds a .462 OBP. During the 2023 collegiate season he batted .250 and tacked on six runs, seven RBI, a double, a home run, two walks along with one stolen base for the Aggies. The speedy utility player was transferred to Texas A & M after spending the 2022 campaign with Division I Temple.
Depth in the Bullpen: The Stingers have relied heavily on the stellar pitching in the bullpen. The players to watch on the bump for this series include Cole Colleran (Point Loma Nazarene University), Rylen Bayne (University of Hawaii), Ben Irsfeld (Minnesota State Mankato), Tyler Bryan (Northwestern State University) and Chris Rofe (Mount Marty College) who combine for a total of 77 strikeouts in 32 total outings.
Border Cats Streak: The Thunder Bay Border Cats have won seven of the last 10 games that they have played in the month of June.
First Pitch: Game one will be played at 7:35, game two and three will be played at 1:35, and game four will be played at 6:35. All four games will be at Port Arthur Stadium.
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.
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.
