Northwoods League: A Stingers reunion for these 2 former sluggers
Jul. 14—WILLMAR — Kenny Roberts made his return to Willmar and the Stingers put on a hitting clinic on Friday before 902 fans at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Roberts, who played for the Stingers in 2012, threw out one of the two ceremonial first pitches before Willmar earned its fourth consecutive win over Minot with a 15-3 victory. He has the franchise record for most home runs in a single season with 16.
"I wanted to come to Willmar and make the most of it," said Roberts, who attended the University of Alabama at the time. "I wanted to get better, refocus and I ended up doing that as well as making memories and being a part of something much bigger — the Stingers organization. It was a really cool summer."
Roberts' host family, Deb and Scott Van Buren, attended his wedding in 2016. Since then he has always had the urge to make it back up to visit them and Willmar.
Life quickly got in the way. Roberts and his wife, Whitnee, have four children in Brandon, Mississippi. But his urge to get back never wavered and 11 years later, he's back.
"It's an awesome feeling," Roberts said. "Playing for the Stingers, it's something that I'll always cherish and always remember."
Ex-Willmar Cardinal star Jordan Smith, who was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians organization in 2011 after playing with the Stingers in 2010, had the second ceremonial first pitch. His son, Talon, had the honors of throwing the ball.
Smith is the manager for the Lynchburg Hillcats, a Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, in Virginia.
"It's a really cool opportunity," Smith said. "It's a really good fit for my family — there's a lot of fun family activities. The team does a really good job of hosting us and making us comfortable."
Smith, 33, also launched Driven Baseball Academy in 2019 in Willmar. He offers lessons to young players in the west central Minnesota area.
"I wanted to be able to provide the cleanest, more pure information that I was learning with Cleveland back to (Willmar)," Smith said. "It's fun seeing the little guys all the way through high school to like (current Stinger) Drey Dirksen. Just hitting with all sorts of talent levels, I'm able to keep tabs on them."
Andrew Sojka, a junior from California State University-Northridge, did his best Roberts impression in the bottom of the first inning to kick start Willmar's 17-hit night. He hit his second home run in a Stingers uniform to cut their early deficit in half at 2-1.
Sojka finished 4-for-6 with four runs, three stolen bases and two RBIs. He has hits in eight of the 10 games he has played with the Stingers.
Kevin Fitzer and Luke Williams tacked on three hits each for the Stingers. Dirksen and Dallas Duarte both added a pair of hits.
Willmar (6-4, 32-12) plays the Minnesota Mud Puppies for a two-game series beginning at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Minot 200 000 010-3 7 1
Willmar 150 410 04x-15 17 0
Hitting — Minot: Nic Pepe 2-4 r-2 2b, Drew Woodcox 2-3 r 2b-2 bb, Ryan Recio 0-4 rbi, Zach Kluvers 1-4 rbi, Damone Hale 1-4, Sam Kaufman 1-4 ... Willmar: Andrew Sojka 4-6 r-4 hr rbi-2 sb-3, Luke Williams 3-4 r rbi-4 bb-2 sb-2, Drey Dirksen 2-6 r 2b rbi-4, Kevin Fitzer 3-6 r 2b rbi, Aidan Byrne 1-4 r-2 bb, Kyle Payne 1-4 rbi bb, Dallas Duarte 2-4 r-2 2b rbi, Kasten Furr 1-4 r-2 bb, Kris Hokenson 0-3 r-2 bb-2 sb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Minot: Duncan Lutz 3.2-11-10-9-2-5, Evan Valencia 2.1-2-1-1-2-0, Noah Miller 1-0-0-0-1-1, Grant Faris 0.2-4-4-4-2-1, Ayden Sauerbrei 0.1-0-0-0-0-1 ... Willmar: Aiden Hansen 7-5-2-2-0-4, Adam Biewen 2-2-1-1-1-3
