WILLMAR - Willmar’s Northwoods League mini-skid continued on Tuesday as Madison’s Anthony Gonsolin hit two home runs and drove in four runs in Madison’s 8-2 victory over the Stingers at Bill Taunton Stadium.
The Stingers have dropped three straight games after an epic hot streak to close out the first half of the NWL season and begin the second half.
The Stingers fell to 4-3 in the second half on “Ickey Woods Night,” with the former Cincinnati Bengals running back and star of a famous Geico commercial in attendance to meet fans and raise money for the Jovante Woods Foundation.
The Stingers and Mallards square off in the second game of the two-game set at 7:05 p.m. today.
Gonsolin cracked a solo home run off Stingers starter Tyler Heitman in the second at bat of the game, but Willmar scratched out a run, thanks to two Mallards errors, in the second.
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Madison broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning. Gonsolin’s bases-loaded single drove in two runs, a wild pitch brought home another run and Madison’s Jean Ramirez singled in Gonsolin.
Gonsolin and Ramirez both hit solo home runs in the ninth inning.
The Mallards’ outburst backed a solid start by Westin Wuethrich, who allowed an unearned run and struck out four in five innings. Hever Bueno was equally effective, allowing an unearned run and striking out five over the final four innings.
Willmar’s Eddie Estrada was 1-for-3 and drove in a run, and Dan Motl, Storm Wilson, Reagan Fowler, Kyle Gilbert and Lucas Tancas had the Stingers’ other hits.
