ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Stingers scored six runs over the final two innings, but the late rally fell short in an 11-9 loss to the Rochester Honkers on Monday night at Mayo Field.
Dylan Woods hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to pull the Stingers within two and drove in four runs total, but the Honkers scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and held on in the top of the ninth.
Trailing by four going to the ninth, the Stingers staged another rally and had the tying run on base with two gone in the final frame.
Pinch hitter Danny Mayer (Pacific) plated a pair earlier in the ninth inning with a bases-loaded single, and Danny Pardo came to the plate with runners at first and second after Mayer. But Pardo grounded out to end the threat and the game.
The Stingers trailed by six runs on two separate occasions, but stormed back late and almost came back from their largest deficit of the season to win the game.
After trailing 3-0 going into the fourth inning, Willmar scored in back-to-back innings in the fourth and fifth to get within a run. Luke Becker (Kentucky) blasted his second homer of the season to get the Stingers offense on the board in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, Travis Wacker singled and Woods brought him home two batters later on an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Rochester responded with five runs in the bottom half of the fifth to stretch its lead to 8-2 before the two teams traded runs in the sixth inning.
Woods finished the game 2-for-5 with an individual season-high with his four RBIs. Becker went 3-for-5 and scored twice.
Tonight’s Center for Diagnostic Imaging player of the game was Dylan Woods. 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.
Willmar completes its five-game road trip with a visit to St. Cloud on Tuesday night. The Stingers return home on Wednesday to face St. Cloud.
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.
