Jun. 28—ST. CLOUD — With a Jack Winkler walk-off single in the 10th inning, the St. Cloud Rox pulled off their 12th straight win, beating the Willmar Stingers 3-2 Sunday at Joe Faber Field.
With a runner starting at second base, Willmar’s Jacob Webb got a strikeout for the first out. Winkler, the next batter, drove the first pitch to left field to bring in Justin Kirby for the game-winning run in front of an announced crowd of 1,327.
In the top of the 10th, Willmar had the go-ahead run at third base after Carter Howell started the inning with a sacrifice bunt. But the Rox got the final two outs with Kevin Davis striking out Jakob Newton and forcing Tanner Tweedt into an infield fly, giving Davis the victory.
Otto Kemp, Jordan Barth and Kirby each had two hits for St. Cloud. Kirby, a junior from Kent State (Ohio), was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Finishing with 11 hits, eight of nine players in the Rox’s lineup had a hit in the win.
Tweedt and Reid Homan led the Stingers’ offense. Tweedt, a redshirt freshman from Sacramento City College (California), was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Homan, a junior from North Alabama, went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
At 7:05 p.m. Monday, Willmar returns to Bill Taunton Stadium for the start of a three-game homestand, hosting the Rochester Honkers.
St. Cloud 3,
Willmar 2
Willmar 010 000 010 0-2 9 0
St. Cloud 001 000 010 1-3 11 0
Hitting — Willmar: Carter Howell 1-4 sh, Tanner Tweedt 2-4 2b r hbp, Reid Homan 2-4 2b rbi, Drey Dirksen 1-4 r, Asa Awbrey 1-3 bb, Daniel Sayre 2-4 sb … St. Cloud: Andrew Pinckney 1-5, Otto Kemp 2-5, Jordan Barth 2-5, Caleb Ricketts 1-4 2b r bb, Justin Kirby 2-4 r-2 bb, Bobby Goodloe 1-5 rbi, Jack Winkler 1-3 rbi hbp-2, Justin Van De Brake 1-3 rbi bb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Ryan Watson 5-8-1-1-1-4, Chandler Freeman 2 2/3-2-1-1-2-2, Jacob Webb (L, 0-1) 1 2/3-1-1-0-1-3 … St. Cloud: Hunter Dollander 5-4-1-1-2-3, Nate Peterson 3-5-1-1-0-7, Kevin Davis (W, 1-0) 2-0-0-0-0-2
Northwoods League: Watson racks up the wins for Willmar
Saturday
St. Cloud 9,
Willmar 0
A trio of St. Cloud pitchers shut out Willmar as the Rox kept its winning streak intact Saturday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Nathan Culley, a freshman from Andover attending Minnesota State-Mankato, opened the game with four scoreless innings, striking out three. Tarleton State (Texas) sophomore Zach Gagnon followed up with three innings of relief with one hit allowed to get credit for the win. Andrew Morones, a sophomore from San Joaquin Delta College (California), held the Stingers hitless over the last two innings.
Andrew Pinckney, a sophomore from Alabama, and Connor O’Brien, a redshirt junior from Seattle University, each had three hits for St. Cloud.
Brady Counsell, a high school senior from Milwaukee who’ll attend the University of Minnesota, went 1-for-3 with a double for the Stingers.
St. Cloud 231 001 200-9 11 0
Willmar 000 000 000-0 4 3
Hitting — St. Cloud: Andrew Pinckney 3-5 r rbi-2 sb, Otto Kemp 1-5 r rbi sb, Jordan Barth 1-5 r, Caleb Ricketts 1-3 hr r rbi-2 hbp sf, Justin Kirby 1-4 r hbp, Bobby Goodloe 1-3 2b r-2 bb-2, Connor O’Brien 3-4 r-2 bb, Nate Swarts 0-4 rbi hbp … Willmar: William Hamiter 1-4, Reid Homan 1-3 sb bb, TJ Curd 1-4, Brady Counsell 1-3 2b
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — St. Cloud: Nathan Culley 4-3-0-0-2-3, Zach Gagnon (W, 1-0) 3-1-0-0-3-2, Andrew Morones 2-0-0-0-1-3 … Willmar: Logan Schmitt (L, 0-3) 4-5-6-3-2-2, Dylan Matela 1-0-0-0-0-0, Sam Malec 2-3-3-3-1-1, Weston Lombard 2-3-0-0-0-1