ST. CLOUD, MN.- The Willmar Stingers brought a two-game skid to an end on Thursday with a 12-4 victory over the St. Cloud Rox in a game that lasted eight innings.

MinnWest Technology Campus Player of the Game Andrew Sojka gave the Stingers the lead on the first at-bat of the game with his fourth homer of the year.

Later in the inning, Stone Miyao would score on a wild pitch to extend the early lead.

The Rox cut into that lead in the fourth inning as a run would score on an error to keep things close.

Willmar would break the game open an inning later however as Miyao crushed his first home run of the season to bring home three and a Dallas Duarte single was enough to knock Rox starter Piercen McElyea out of the game.

That put the Stingers up 6-1 and a sac fly and two wild pitches in the sixth only added more insurance for the Stingers.

St. Cloud started the bottom half of the inning strong however which led to a 2-RBI single from Chipper Beck and another run scoring single from Haiden Hunt to get those three runs back.

In the seventh, Sojka picked up his fourth hit of the day to bring home a run and Kevin Fitzer scored two in similar fashion to extend the Stingers lead to 12-4 which is where things would stay.

Hemponix Relief Pitcher of the Game Jonathan Zayas got the Stingers through two innings before the game would go into a weather delay in the top of the eighth inning.

The game would be finalized soon after and the Stingers walked away with a victory.

Tomorrow will mark the final game of the series as the Stingers will look to do it all again against the Rox on Friday.

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.