The Hot Tots were in Willmar, MN tracking on the Willmar Stingers the night of August 5 as part of their two-game series.

Minot came into the game with a four-game win streak, but the first few innings put the possibility of a fifth firmly to bed.

The first two innings saw just six total at bats for the Hot Tots, while the Stingers were able to secure the first run of the game in the bottom of the first off of an RBI hit by Willmar’s Liam Bushey. The second inning saw a much more drastic score gap between the teams.

The Stingers started out the bottom of the second inning with an RBI double from Merrick Rapoza to bring the score to 0-2. Willmar’s second scoring at bat of the inning came from Armani Guzman in the form of a grand slam before bringing around the top of the order. Ryker Edwards was then able to secure an RBI single and Rapoza hit his second RBI of the inning before a strike out ended the bottom of the second. The Stingers scored eight total runs in the second inning, making the score 0-9 heading into the third.

The Hot Tots started their long climb up from the nine run deficit with a run home from Andrew Marquis. Marquis scored on an error hit by Jonah Shields. Minot’s Blake Cavill was walked before Robbie Demetree hit an RBI single to bring Shields home and the score to 2-9. Rowan Felsh closed out the top of the inning with an RBI double to bring both Cavill and Demetree home. The score was 4-9 at the end of the top of the inning.

The Stinger quickly responded in the bottom of the third with three more runs of their own, including a two-run home run hit by Sam Hunt. Both teams scored an additional run in the fourth, allowing the Stingers to maintain their eight-run lead going into the fifth.

Demetree was able to secure an RBI to bring Cavill home, but was thrown out in the process. Demetree’s was the last run scored through the sixth inning at deadline.

Check Thursday’s paper for final results.