WILLMAR–It was deja-vu all over again for the Stingers on Wednesday, as they dropped an extra inning heartbreaker to the Mankato Moondogs 9-7 at Bill Taunton Stadium in a carbon copy of Tuesday night’s walk-off loss in Alexandria. Willmar staked themselves to an early 3-0 lead, but the Moondogs struck for four runs off Stingers starter Wally Marciel in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Just like on Tuesday, the Stingers came up with a heroic rally in the eighth to eventually force extra innings, scoring three runs on a two-run passed ball and a Bryan Willson RBI single, but a Danny Miller two-run homer in the tenth sent Mankato over the top for good.

At the plate for Willmar, Isaac Ballou led the charge.  The Marshall freshman ended up two for three with a pair of RBI’s, a walk, a single, and a stolen base. Carter Bell also had an RBI, but on a night when Jordan Smith wasn’t on and Jared Norris was one for four, Bryan Willson picked up the slack, coming up huge in just his second game back from the inactive list with two hits and three RBI’s including a double to lead off the seventh and the game-tying hit.

Next up for the 18-16 Stingers, it’s another date with the Moondogs, Wednesday night at 7:05 pm at Bill Taunton Stadium to round out the 2010 first half schedule.  It’s AWA Night presented by Miller Light, so former wrestler and G.I. Joe action hero Sgt. Slaughter will be on hand to throw out the first pitch and sign autographs before the game.  For tickets, call 320-222-2010 or log on to willmarstingers.com for more information. We remind you to check out wctrib.com for all your Stingers coverage. The 2010 season is presented by Charter.