ST. CLOUD, MN.- The Willmar Stingers engaged in a back-and-forth battle with the St. Cloud Rox but found itself on the wrong end of a 15-14 result on Wednesday.
Willmar started off on the right foot as a leadoff triple from Andrew Sojka sparked a first inning rally.
Two St. Cloud errors and a Luke Williams single accounted for three early runs to get the Stingers ahead.
Sojka tripled for the second consecutive inning to bring home run number four for Willmar and they were able to keep the offense going in the second.
MinnWest Technology Campus Player of the Game Stone Miyao brought Sojka home to help kickstart a four-hit day.
The Stingers would jump to a 7-0 lead after the top of the second inning looking good early on.
However, there was still a long way to go as the Rox cut into the lead after a sac fly in the bottom half of the inning and made a big push in the fourth.
The Rox pieced together six hits in the inning including a three-run homer from Michael McNamara to put up 10 runs in the inning.
That gave the Rox an 11-7 lead but the Stingers had a quick answer in the fifth.
Kevin Fitzer brought home a run with a single and the Stingers would then add two runs off of a wild pitch, one off of a walk and sac fly to go back in front 12-11.
Drey Dirksen tripled the following inning to bring in two more and give the Stingers some insurance which they would hold onto for a majority of the game.
Hemponix Relief Pitcher of the Game Ethan Stade was a big part of that as he pitched three and two thirds innings to momentarily silence a red hot Rox offense.
The magic stopped in the eighth inning as sparked by a Jackson Hauge triple, the Rox were able to tie the game at 14 headed into the ninth.
After the Stingers came up empty, the Rox had a chance at victory.
Anthony Mata singled with one out to get a runner on and after a strikeout, Hauge hit a ball to the right field gap as Sojka made a diving catch to send the game to extras.
Or so the Stingers thought.
After deliberation amongst the umpires, it was ruled that Sojka was unable to make the catch and Mata scored in the process for an unlikely Rox victory.
The Stingers will meet the Rox again on Thursday in St. Cloud in search of revenge.
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.
