WILLMAR - The Willmar Stingers added three infielders to their 2016 team, bringing their roster to 18 players.
Toby Hanson (University of Minnesota), Kevin Mahala (George Washington University) and Greg Lambert (Southern Illinois University) signed on to join the Stingers in their seventh Northwoods League season.
Hanson, a sophomore from Delano, joins fellow Gopher teammates Tyler Hanson and Eddie Estrada on the Stingers roster. Hanson is primarily a first baseman with the Gophers, but does see time behind the plate.
Early on this spring, Hanson has been one of the Gophers’ hottest players, hitting .458 in seven games with two doubles, two home runs and six runs batted in.
In the team’s season-opener against Utah, Hanson delivered a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with a home run and followed that up a few days later going 2-for-4 with three RBI and another home run against Oregon State.
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As a freshman in 2015, Hanson started 32 of 41 games and hit .241 with eight doubles and a home run. His 32 starts were the most by any freshman that season.
Coming out of high school, Hanson was among the top players in the state. He was a Mr. Baseball finalist and was voted the Class AA Player of the Year.
Mahala, a junior from Basking Ridge, N.J., is set to come to Willmar as the everyday shortstop from George Washington. In his two-plus seasons with the Colonials, Mahala has played in every game since arriving on campus. In 11 games this season, Mahala is hitting .311, with 14 hits, five doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 10 RBI.
In 2015, Mahala hit .258, three home runs, nine doubles, and 26 RBI. Mahala scored 26 runs and had 12 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games.
Even as a freshman, Mahala was a steady presence at the plate with six doubles, 17 RBI, and a .244 average in 2014.
Lambert, a sophomore from Athens, Alabama, comes to the Stingers as a versatile player who can play both corner infield positions.
Lambert has started in all 11 games for the 2016 Salukis. He has 13 hits, two doubles, eight RBI and a .289 batting average. During his freshman year, Lambert was a mainstay in the lineup making 55 starts and he led the team with 23 RBI, and finished in the top three in both hits (61) and batting average (.276).
