Jul. 8—LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Willmar Stingers won their first game of the second half of the Northwoods League season by beating the La Crosse Loggers 9-6 Wednesday.
Some 1,788 fans at Copeland Stadium watched the two teams take 17 walks and be hit by three pitches. The game took 3 hours, 39 minutes, 41 seconds to complete.
Willmar (1-1) used a seven-run fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Three Stingers had three hits.
Left fielder Josh Fitzpatrick, a redshirt freshman at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, was 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI and a walk. The lead-off hitter is batting .333 (9 of 27) in seven games with the Stingers.
Right fielder William Hamiter, a redshirt freshman at the University of Alabama, was 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI. Hamiter is batting .326 (28 of 86) with seven doubles and 16 RBI for Willmar.
First baseman Grant Kerry, a redshirt freshman from Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho, was 3-for-6 with two RBI. Kerry is batting .325 (13 of 40) with a home run and nine RBI for Willmar.
The Stingers return home to play the Minnesota Mud Puppies at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at Bill Taunton Stadium. It’s Barry Plush Doll Giveaway Night. The first 100 kids receive a doll of the Stingers’ mascot.
Willmar 9,
La Crosse 6
Willmar 000 171 000-9 15 1
La Crosse 010 000 014-6 4 2
Hitting — Willmar: Josh Fitzpatrick 3-5 r rbi, Carter Howell 1-3 r rbi bb-3, William Hamiter 3-6 r rbi-2, Grant Kerry 3-6 rbi-2, Daniel Walsh 1-4 r bb, Steve Ramirez III 1-5, Kaden Hopson 0-4 r-2 rbi bb, Brady Counsell 1-4 r-2 bb, Tate Meiners 2-4 r rbi bb … La Crosse: Christian Dicochea 0-4 r hbp, Chase Davis 0-3 r rbi bb-2, Kyle Casper 0-4 r hbp, Ronald Sweeny III 0-4 rbi bb, Michael Dixon II 2-5 2b rbi-2, T.J. Manteufel 1-4 r bb, Brandon Fields 0-2 bb-2, Bill Ralston 1-2 r 2b rbi bb-2, Julian Brock 0-2 r bb hbp
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Dennis Boatman (W, 4-1) 5 1/3-2-1-1-7-7, Jon Mocherman 1 2/3 -0-0-0-0-1, Chandler Freeman 1-1-3-3-2-1, Colton Hamman 1-1-2-2-0-0 … La Crosse: Connor Markl 4-5-1-1-4-8, Erik Demchuk (L, 0-1) 2/3 -5-5-5-1-0, Nick King 1 1/3-4-3-2-2-0, Joshua Hahn 3-1-0-0-1-4