DULUTH–After getting rained out on Saturday night, the Stingers were forced to play the first doubleheader in team history on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Duluth Huskies in a pair of seven inning games at Wade Stadium. In game one, Cedric Pomerlee impressed for Willmar, going five and a third strong innings in his second start of the year, getting the win in a 9-1 Stingers victory. The Alcorn State lefty allowed one earned run on four hits, walking just one, and striking out four Huskies along the way.
Jordan Smith led the way offensively in game one, vaulting into the team RBI lead with his two-hit, three-RBI performance. With the victory, the Stingers briefly climbed back to the .500 mark, upping their record to 5-5. But the satisfaction of game one’s victory was relatively short-lived as Duluth struck back in the second game thanks to Sean Sommerfeld’s extra-inning heroics in a 5-4 Huskies win.
After falling behind early, the Stingers clawed back into game two, scoring one in the sixth and two in the seventh to tie the game at three, forcing an extra frame. Daniel Zapata has been lights out in the early going this season and came out of the bullpen to collect the final two outs in the seventh, gifting Willmar an extra frame. In the top of the eighth, the Stingers pushed across a run as Jordan Smith came in to score on Eduardo Gonzalez fielder’s choice. In the end though, it wouldn’t be enough. Zapata faltered in the bottom of the inning, giving up a leadoff double to Huskies catcher Tyler Albright, followed by a game-winning, walk-off two-run homer to Sommerfeld.
With the loss, the Stingers fall to 5-6 this season, settling into the fifth place slot in the North Division. Next up for Willmar, it’s the rubber match with Duluth, first pitch at 7:05 on Monday night. After a day off, the Stingers return home Wednesday, June 16th for the first of a two-game set with the Rochester Honkers at Bill Taunton Stadium. Be sure to show up early as it’s Create the Buzz Night, presented by Hanson Advertising. The first 500 fans will recieve a signiture Stingers kazoo. As always, be sure to log on to wctrib.com for comprehensive Stingers coverage. The 2010 season is presented by Charter.
