Adam Papin/MDN – Jake Hjelle (44) of the Willmar Stingers steals second base with Zach Kluvers (13) of the Minot Hot Tots covering the base during a game on Tuesday night at Corbett Field.

Tuesday there was breakfast at the ballpark that featured a 9:05 a.m. game between the Willmar Stingers (17-4 overall) and the Minot Hot Tots (5-16 overall). The Stingers took game one of Tuesday’s twinbill by a final of 12-2, as the Hot Tots looked to bounce back and even the fight during the nightcap.

In a contest that featured a back-and-forth affair early on, followed by a lengthy weather delay in the closing frames, it was the Stingers who were able to walk away with a 12-2 victory on Tuesday night.

Kevin Fitzer and Stone Miyao of the Stingers tagged Tommy White for an early run as they had back-to-back doubles with one out in the top of the first, giving Willmar a 1-0 lead. A throwing error and an RBI single from Zach Stroh extended the Stingers’ advantage to 3-0 in the first.

Overcoming a tough start were the Hot Tots, as they countered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to make it a 3-2 ballgame. Damone Hale singled, stole second and scored on a wild pitch, then Karson Evans blasted a solo home run to left field for both Minot’s tallies in the frame.

Showing the ability to counter as well were the Stingers, as they tacked on two more runs courtesy of a fielder’s choice off the bat of Sean Rimmer and an RBI single by Kyle Payne. In an action-packed contest early on, Willmar pushed the lead again and took a 6-2 advantage into the bottom of the third.

Even though the Stingers remained in front, Skout Rallo provided a bright spot for the Hot Tots during the contest. Entering the game for White in the second inning, Rallo did a good job of keeping the Stingers quiet. Through 3.1 innings, Rallo allowed one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

While Minot’s bats went quiet through the middle portion of the game, it wasn’t for lack of effort. Kasten Furr, Luke Williams and Miyao of Willmar provided gold-glove caliber defense to keep the Hot Tots from developing a scoring threat.

The removal of Rallo from the game made way for the Stingers to continue adding to their lead, as they got three more runs on two bases loaded walks and a sacrifice fly from Williams to make it a 9-2 game in the top of the sixth inning.

Following the rally by the Stingers, the game went into a weather delay and put a pause on the action. Despite no baseball being played due to weather, the Stingers and Hot Tots took turns playing games of hacky sack, and Travis Stapleton of the Hot Tots took center stage by entertaining fans with karaoke.

When play resumed, Grant Faris took the mound for the Hot Tots with the team trailing 9-2 in the top of the seventh inning. The Stingers went on to put three runs on the board in the final few frames, as they took down the Hot Tots 12-2 on Tuesday night.

Hale and Evans led the way for Minot with two hits each, followed by Christian Perez, Nic Pepe, Ryan Recio and Zach Kluvers with one hit each.

Up next, the Hot Tots and Stingers will conclude their four-game series tonight at Corbett Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.