Jul. 17—ROCHESTER — A seven-run sixth inning blew the doors off this one for the Willmar Stingers.
That big inning helped the Rochester Honkers beat Willmar 11-3 before 1,006 fans Friday night at Mayo Field.
The loss dropped Willmar to 5-7 in the Northwoods League’s Great Plains West Division’s second half and 21-27 overall.
Willmar had a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Rochester (5-6 second half, 20-23 overall) got two in the fifth to tie it up.
Then came the sixth.
Rochester’s Jack Collette homered and drove in four runs, going 3-for-5. The San Jose State University redshirt sophomore is batting .262 with three homers and 20 RBI for the Honkers.
For Willmar, Grant Kerry and Jakob Newton each had good nights. Kerry went 2-for-5 with a run and a double. The designated hitter from Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho is batting .338 (26 of 77) with two home runs and 19 RBI.
Newton was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. The right fielder from Florida Institute of Technology is batting .291 (34 of 117) with 14 RBI.
The loss hindered a decent performance on the mound for Rhys Stevens. The Stingers right-hander from Saddleback College in California went five innings. He struck out nine, walked four and allowed three hits and two runs. He threw 102 pitches, 64 for strikes.
Willmar continues its road trip in another state. The Stingers play the Bismarck Larks at 6:35 p.m. Saturday in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Rochester 11, Willmar 3
Willmar 200 000 010-3 6 5
Rochester 000 027 20x-11 10 0
Hitting — Willmar: Carter Howell 0-3 r bb, Daniel Walsh 1-4 bb, Grant Kerry 2-5 r 2b, Jakob Newton 2-5 2b rbi, Tate Meiners 0-3 r bb, Drey Dirksen 1-3 2b rbi sf, Asa Awbrey 0-4 rbi, Derek Hackman 0-3 bb, Jorge Lucero 0-1 bb, Brady Counsell 0-1 bb … Rochester: Jackson Forbes 2-5 r-2 rbi, Jack Collette 3-5 r-2 hr rbi-4, Mac Horvath 0-3 r rbi-2 bb-2 sb, Jason Swan 0-2 hbp, Ben North 0-4 r bb sb, Carson stevens 0-4 rbi-3 bb, Miguel Ortiz 1-5 r, Zach Cole 2-4 r-2 sb, Otto Grimm 2-3 r-2 2b rbi bb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Rhys Stevens 5-3-2-2-4-9, Dylan Matela (L, 1-2) 1-4-7-3-1-1, Sam Malec 2-3-2-1-0-3 … Rochester: Casey Trapp (W, 2-0) 6-3-2-2-3-3, Shane Martin 1-1-0-0-1-1, Ryan Cowdrey 2-2-1-1-2-2