Willmar, MN — The Willmar Stingers (2-4) received some late game heroics on Saturday night at Bill Taunton Stadium in their 4-3 win over the Mankato MoonDogs (4-2).<\/p>\n
The visitors got the scoring going early in the top of the first. Anthony Avalos led off the game with a double and was driven in by Liam Ebbs to make the scoreboard read 1-0 Mankato after an half inning of play.<\/p>\n
Willmar responded right away in the home half of the first with a sac-fly rbi from David Estrada to drive in Brooks Wright to even the contest at one.<\/p>\n
After allowing a run in the first, Stingers starter, Logan Freche got to work by retiring the next 10 Moondogs in a row. In the midst of Freche\u2019s brilliance, the Stingers took a 2-1 lead off a Brooks Wright opposite field home run to left. This was the first long ball hit by any player in a Stinger uniform in 2026.<\/p>\n
Freche\u2019s night was over after four innings of work where he allowed two hits, one earned run, one walk, and struck out five. His replacement was Riley Hasenstab, who ran into some trouble in the top half of the 5th<\/sup>. Mankato had three hits in the inning and the biggest ended up being a two-run double from Avalos to give the MoonDogs a 3-2 advantage.<\/p>\n In the bottom part of the inning, The Stingers threatened to score but stranded two runners on. Mankato starter, Wade Thewes got through a clean sixth and recorded the first two outs of the seventh before Ryan Dilger entered in relief.<\/p>\n Thewes finished with a line of six and two-thirds innings, four hits allowed, two earned runs allowed, and fanned six. He appeared to be in prime position to pick up his first win as a Moondog.<\/p>\n The Stingers made sure this was not the case. In the 8th<\/sup> inning David Estrada reached on a Mankato fielding error and two pitches later he stole second. The ensuing throwdown from Moondog catcher Danny Rollins landed short of the bag and bounced into centerfield. Estrada went to third on the throwing error and was ninety feet away from tying the ball game.<\/p>\n After a Cody Ferrante walk to put runners on the corners, Cru Huenfeld tied the game with a sac-fly rbi that scored Estrada. Ian McCubbin entered as a pinch runner for Ferrante and stole second to put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position. Kyle Panganiban was next up and delivered the biggest hit of the season for the Stingers. He ripped an 0-2 pitch back up the middle to move Willmar ahead 4-3.<\/p>\n Parker Barraza closed the door in the ninth for his second save of the season. Fabian Ibarra who replaced Hasenstab was credited with the win and the loss went to Mankato\u2019s Dilger.<\/p>\n The Stingers will be on the road tomorrow for first their matchup of the season versus the St. Cloud Rox. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 at Joe Faber Field.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Visit willmarstingers.com or call 320-222-2010 to reserve your seats today. The 2026 season is presented by J.D. Kreps Financial Group, empowering investors with powerful financial advice.<\/span><\/p>\n About the Willmar Stingers: For more information about the Willmar Stingers, visit willmarstingers.com or contact the front office (320)222-2010 or info@willmarstingers.com<\/p>\n ##<\/p>\n 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 entering its\u2019 33rd<\/sup>\u00a0season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 415 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019\/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (BAL) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (NYM). League games are viewable live on FloSports.tv.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Willmar, MN — The Willmar Stingers (2-4) received some late game heroics on Saturday night at Bill Taunton Stadium in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":20843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,33,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-categories","category-team-news","category-update-ticker-all-categories"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe Willmar Stingers are a member of the Northwoods League, the premier summer collegiate baseball league in North America. The Stingers provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment while showcasing the top college baseball talent from across the country.<\/p>\n