DULUTH - Willmar broke a tie game in the top of the eighth and the Stingers beat the Duluth Huskies 7-1 on Tuesday at Wade Stadium in the season opener.
The Stingers are 1-0 in the Northwoods League North Division and play at 6:35 p.m. today at Duluth.
Tied 1-1, Stingers’ left fielder Scotty Smith doubled to lead off the eighth, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on an error by the catcher.
Stingers’ right fielder Dan Motl then singled, advanced a wild pitch and stole third, and came in to score on a Nick Rivera single for a 3-1 lead.
Reliever Brantley Claunch spun two shutout innings and took the win in relief of starter Will Lydon.
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Lydon tossed six innings of a two-hit ball, striking out five and allowing just two hits, one a home run to Duluth’s Dominic Brugnoni.
The Stingers added a nice cushion with a four-run ninth on an error, a two-run single by Brian Pruett and a Rivera RBI single.
Garrett Anderson closed it out in the ninth, giving up a hit and striking out the side.
