WILLMAR—In stunning, walk-off fashion, the Stingers climbed over the .500 mark for the first time ever with a 12-inning, 7 to 6 win on Wednesday night over the Alexandria Beetles.  It took four-plus hours, and a three run eighth, but with runners on the corners and one away in the 12th, Joe Sever delivered an opposite field single to drive home Zach Rowles for the winning run.

Sever may have come away the hero, but the offensive star of the night had to be Isaac Ballou.  The Stingers leadoff man went two for six with three RBI’s coming on a pair of clutch, late inning extra base hits.  His triple in the seventh brought home a run, and his two-run double an inning later drove in two.  Sever and Matt Serna both had a pair of RBI’s as well.

Roy Metter lasted just three and two thirds in his second start, giving up a run on six hits, giving way to Wally Marciel in the fourth.  After Marciel allowed four in the top of the sixth, Jayson Huett took over for two and a third.  But it was a spotless two and two thirds from Daniel Zapata that gave the Stingers a chance to win.  The Dixie State product was near perfect in his third outing of the year, striking out half the batters he faced.

Logan Birr got credit for the win after throwing a scoreless top of the 12th.  Wednesday’s game saw several Stingers firsts.  Jordan Smith drew the first intentional walk in club history, and the game was the first ever to go into extra innings.  With the win, the Stingers improve to 4-3 on the season.  Willmar hosts the Beetles again Thursday night at 7:05, for tickets call 320-222-2010 or visit willmarstingers.com for more information.  Also, for comprehensive Stingers coverage, log on to wctrib.com.  The 2010 season is presented by Charter.