Northwoods Willmar Stingers

Rox' Pitter Patter Upends Stingers

July 14, 2013 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Willmar Stingers News Release


WILLMAR, Minn. - A bloop single here, an infield single there and a few aggressive plays on the bases, add them all up and you get a three-run third inning that sunk the Willmar Stingers at Bill Taunton Stadium. The St. Cloud Rox expertly utilized the strengths of their personnel to jump in front of the Stingers who, despite valiant efforts, were unable to battle back into the game. The 6-5 defeat came down to the wire as A Max Kuhn double in the 9th inning placed the tying run in scoring position.

The game began favorably for Willmar as it scored a run in the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead on a Max Dutto RBI single. However, the next half inning was controlled by the Rox as the visitors used small ball to disrupt what had been a good rhythm for starting pitcher Zack Tillery. Tillery (Florida Gulf Coast) gave up a full-count base hit to Tim Colwell who then proved to be a nightmare distraction. Colwell stole second base despite the concerted efforts from Tillery to keep him close to the bag. The batter during the time, Blake Headley, fouled off five pitches with two strikes against him to eventually walk after a 12-pitch battle. From that point, a squeeze play, a groundout and an infield hit scored three and established a bothersome trend for Willmar.

The Stingers, though, battled back on a pair of occasions. In the home half of the third, Willmar plated a pair after Danny Brennan reached first on a walk and Marc Flores was hit by a pitch. Brennan (St. Louis) and Flores (Hawaii) each stole on the same play to place the tying run in scoring position and Kuhn, the CDI player of the game, responded with a resounding double to make the score 3-3. After St. Cloud regained the lead 6-3, Willmar fought back with a pair in the 7th inning that raised hopes for a comeback. RBI doubles by Flores and Kuhn cut the Rox' lead down to one, but 2013 NWL all-star Reese Gregory came in to stem the tide and killed the rally.

Sheldon Lee pitched excellently in relief, keeping the Stingers in the game. The lefty out of San Francisco registered 3.2 scoreless innings en route to four strikeouts. Lee lowered his season ERA to 3.26. All of Kuhn's four hits went for doubles and the Kentucky third baseman recorded three RBI on the game, increasing his season total to 36.

Despite the loss, the Stingers remain ahead of St. Cloud in the season series 3-2 and will look to settle the score tomorrow in St. Cloud with Colin Poche (2-2, 2.04 ERA) (Arkansas) as the starting pitcher.

The 2013 season is presented by Charter. For more on your Willmar Stingers please visit the West Central Tribune at www.wctrib.com



Northwoods League Stories from July 14, 2013


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