Written by Dain Solberg

Photo Courtesy of Dennis Benson

The Matchup: The Willmar Stingers (26-8) will take on the Great Plains East Division Champions the Eau Claire Express (22-14) on July 5 and July 6.

Players To Watch: Infielder Kyle Payne (Northwest Nazarene University) is leading all Stingers hitters in batting average (.375) and sits fourth on the team for total hits with 27 knocks in 24 games.

For Eau Claire, Dylan O’Connell (University of St. Thomas) leads the Express in batting average (.337) and was tied with teammate Reed Latimer (University of Montevallo) for runs scored both with 22, before Wednesday’s contest against Thunder Bay where O’Connell now leads the team with 23. For Latimer, he will be facing a collegiate teammate in Stinger Reliever Gino Cozzi.

Tonight’s Starting Pitchers: For Willmar, Tyler Bryan (2-2) will make his eighth appearance of the season. Bryan has struck out 17 batters and allowed 12 free passes in 13.2 innings of work. He has posted a 3.29 ERA.

For Eau Claire, Kale Hopke (2-0) will make his seventh appearance of the season. Hopke has struck out 12 batters and allowed 11 free passes in 17.0 innings of work. He has posted a 3.18 ERA.

Keys to the Series:

•  Start fast (score first)

•  Shut down Latimer

•  Don’t strand runners

Last Meeting: The Stingers took on the Express on May 31 at Bill Taunton Stadium for opening weekend. Willmar has split the season series thus far, winning 8-6 on opening day and falling to the Express the second night during a 11-7 loss.

First Pitch: Both games against Eau Claire will be played 7:05 (Bill Taunton Stadium).

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.

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.