Written by Dain Solberg

Photo Courtesy of Dennis Benson

The Matchup: The Willmar Stingers (49-16) will end the regular season at Carson Park as they take on the Great Plains East Champs in the Eau Claire Express (36-29).

Players To Watch: Stone Miyao (Hawaii University) has been hot as of late. Against Eau Claire, Miyao has a .429 batting average and tallied six hits and six RBI in 14 at-bats against the Express.

Marcus Cline (Tulane University) is the player in the spotlight for the Express. Cline bolsters a hot Eau Claire team with 13 hits, seven RBI, six runs in 35 at-bats and has the team lead with a .371 batting average.

Tonight’s Pitchers:  Jack Kelley (Palomar College) will get the nod from Stingers pitching coach Josh Teichroew. Kelley (0-1) will make his sixth appearance. He  posts a 5.66 ERA and has 20 strikeouts and has allowed ten free passes through 20.2 innings.

Daniel Rosado (Lewis University) will get the ball for the Express. Rosado (1-1) will make his 13th  appearance. He posts a 3.20 ERA combined with 20 strikeouts and 21 walks after facing 142 hitters.

Playoff Matchup: Willmar will open up the 2023 postseason (best of three) against Great Plains West rival the Saint Cloud Rox on Sunday August 13 at Joe Faber Field at the Municipal Athletic Complex in Saint Cloud, MN. 

Eau Claire Playoff Picture: The Eau Claire Express will take on the Great Plains East front runner the La Crosse Loggers for the first round of the playoffs on August 13 or August 14. The host site is pending (Copeland Park- La Crosse) or (Carson Park- Eau Claire)

Last Meeting: The Stingers last faced off against the Express on August 5-6 at Carson Park. Willmar swept the series by scores of 8-6 and 11-4. Kevin Fitzer (California State University Northridge) was the player of the game in game one after a 2-for-5 performance with a home run and two RBI. For Eau Claire, Reed Latimer (University of Alabama at Birmingham) was the player in the spotlight. Latimer went 2-for-5 as well and came into the last series with a .320 batting average which was second on the Eau Claire Roster as of August 4.

Keys To The Series:

•  Stone Miyao vs. Express.
•  Consistency throughout the top four (Fitzer, Sojka, Miyao, Dirksen)
•  Continuing Momentum into Postseason.

First Pitch: Both games will be played at Carson Park. Game one will take place at 6:35. Game two will be played at 7:05. This will be the second series in the month of August that will be played at Eau Claire between the two respective teams.

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.