Willmar (4-4) put together its best all-around effort of the season on Tuesday at Bill Taunton Stadium, posting its first shutout of the season in a 7-0 win over the Mankato MoonDogs (5-2). 

The first half of the game was a pitching battle between North Dakota State teammates Blake Stockert of Willmar and Jordan Harms of Mankato.

Stockert surrendered more hits in his five innings of work, but he also made the pitches he needed to, helping him out a several jams.

The seven hits Stockert allowed all came within his first four innings, but he got a pair of double plays that proved pivotal. Stockert got out of a first and second jam in the second by inducing his first double play of the night, and then tight roped out of a bases-loaded jam in the third with a second twin killing. With the bases loaded again in the fourth and two outs, Stockert got Alvaro Rubalcaba to fly out to end that threat. 

After the Stingers had just one hit in the first four innings, they finally broke loose in the fifth inning with a three-run frame. Justin Toerner (Cal State Northridge) started the rally with a leadoff single and then went to third a batter later when a pickoff throw from the MoonDogs catcher Alex Tucker sailed into right field. Toerner came around to score on Brandon Perez's (USC) RBI single, while Perez scored on Danny Pardo's (Montevallo) RBI single. Quincy McAfee (Pepperdine) also came into score on that play to make it 3-0. 

That was all the Stingers pitching staff would need the rest of the way, as Joe Vranesic (Kent State), Jake Rothwell (Daytona State), Josh Mill (Cal State Northridge), and Jayce Vancena (Michigan) combined to allow just three hits in the final four innings. 

Perez added a second run-scoring single in the sixth, and Toerner followed a Pardo RBI groundout with a two-run double in the seventh for the final margin of victory. 

Tonight’s Center for Diagnostic Imaging player of the game was Justin Toerner. CDI is your local medical imaging provider. It’s your choice where you go for medical imaging, for MRI, CT, mammograms and pain injections, choose CDI. Visit online at myCDI.com/CentralMN.

The Stingers continue their three-game homestand with a two-game series against the La Crosse Loggers starting on Wednesday. Wednesday is Soft-sided Lunch Box Giveaway Night presented by Christianson & Associates, PLLP, with the first 250 kids receiving a Stingers soft-sided lunch box. 

The 2016 Stingers season is presented by Marcus Construction. For more coverage of the Stingers visit the West Central Tribune online at www.wctrib.com.