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Northwoods League: Another win, another record for Stingers

michael lyne, west central tribune, willmar, minn.
·4 min read

Aug. 10—WILLMAR — It has been a week full of history for the Willmar Stingers.

After breaking a pair of Northwoods League records in the past two days, the Stingers eclipsed their franchise best in wins for a single season on Thursday.

Willmar beat Thunder Bay for a second straight night, utilizing an 8-1 victory to earn its 49th win of the regular season before 1,076 fans at Bill Taunton Stadium.

"It's hard to really put into words what it feels like — it's such a team effort — just from the organization from the top down," Stingers field manager Freddy Smith said. "Our front office does a phenomenal job of taking care of us. That's first and foremost. Secondly, our players carry themselves the right way every single day. ... Seeing them accomplish such a feat, all credit goes to them."

Jack Howard of Renville, also a 2023 graduate of Ridgewater College, got his first start on the mound for the Border Cats. He had a tall task of trying to help Thunder Bay spoil Willmar's historic night.

"I've played here many times, but nothing like this with a big crowd," Howard said. "It was definitely a tough task."

Howard, who joined the Border Cats earlier this week, went six innings with five strikeouts and one walk. He allowed nine hits and five runs over that stretch.

"I thought it was pretty good, especially for my first time ever pitching in the Northwoods League," Howard said of his outing. "I was happy with my end result."

Howard plans to transfer to the University of Jamestown. He will continue playing baseball in the NAIA and will major in business.

"I like the facilities and the coaches a lot," Howard said. "I'm going to give it a chance and see how it goes."

Cade Marquardt of Litchfield, who will attend Briar Cliff University after spending two years with the Itasca Vikings (2020-22), also joined Thunder Bay in August. He has hits in five of seven games played with the Border Cats, who needed to add a catcher.

"I've enjoyed (the experience)," Marquardt said. "It's fun to see good competition.

"I got a good opportunity (at Briar Cliff) to play. ... I'm excited."

Stone Miyao, a junior at the University of Hawaii, led Willmar in its 13-hit effort. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a pair of runs, one stolen base and a walk.

Aidan Byrne, Drey Dirksen, Jake Hjelle and Sean Rimmer each tacked on two hits for the Stingers.

Hjelle, a redshirt junior at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, hit his third home run of the season. He batted 2-for-4, adding one run, a stolen base and an RBI.

Tom Sun, Adam Biewen and Andrew Baumgart held the Border Cats to one run on four hits.

Biewen, a junior from Gustavus Adolphus College, pitched five relief innings to improve his record to 2-1. He struck out four batters and walked two, allowing two hits and zero runs.

Both teams wore unique uniforms in honor of National S'Mores and Fan Appreciation night with postgame fireworks. Willmar wore s'mores uniforms and Thunder Bay wore campfire uniforms.

Willmar (23-8, 49-16), which is on an eight-game winning streak, plays Eau Claire in its final series of the regular season. Game 1 is set for 7:05 p.m. Friday at Carson Park.

Thunder Bay 000 000 001-1 4 3

Willmar 130 010 21x-8 13 0

Hitting — Thunder Bay: Peter Fusek 0-2 bb-2, Blake Warner 0-3 bb, Cade Marquardt 0-3 bb, Mike Long 2-4 r 2b, Colton Allen 1-4, Griffin Olson 1-4, Ben Keske 0-2 bb-2, Spencer Hans 0-3 bb rbi ... Willmar: Andrew Sojka 1-4 r-2 bb, Stone Miyao 3-4 r-2 rbi-2 bb sb, Drey Dirksen 2-5 rbi-2 2b, Sean Rimmer 2-4 r-2 3b sb, Aidan Byrne 2-4 rbi sb, Jack Hines 0-4 rbi, Jake Hjelle 2-4 r hr rbi sb, Zach Stroh 1-4 r

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Thunder Bay: Jack Howard (L, 0-1) 6-9-5-5-1-5, Nate Melnikoff 1.2-4-3-1-1-0, Chad Herrera 0.1-0-0-0-0-0 ... Willmar: Tom Sun 2-0-0-0-2-1, Adam Biewen (W, 2-1) 5-2-0-0-2-4, Andrew Baumgart 2-2-1-1-3-3