ST. CLOUD, MN – The St. Cloud Rox capitalized on a lead-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning to get the 8-7 victory over the Bismarck Larks. An early start time turned into four-and-a-half-hour game for the Larks first away game of the year.
Larks Fall in Extra Inning Heart Breaker
The game got off to a slow start in St. Cloud as the first four innings shaped the game into being a pitchers dual with Koby Bishop on the mound for the Larks and Andrew Mitchel on the mound for the home team.
Tristen Hudson led off the fifth inning with a walk and later scored on a double in the gap hit by Kyle Stevens. The Rox battled back in the bottom of the fifth inning scoring three runs with two of them coming from a homerun off of the bat of Ricardo Sanchez.
Bismarck gained two runs in the top of the sixth after Mike Farnell and Jacob Nesbit led the inning off with back to back singles.
Adding one more run in the seventh and eighth inning, the Larks were down by two runs going into the ninth. Stevens started the inning with a single into left field and two batters later Farnell would get on base after being hit by a pitch. Both runners would advance to second and third base with two outs after a fielder’s choice. Brandon Barna came up clutch with a single down the third base line that drove in both runs to tie the game.
Excellent pitching out of the bullpen by Colan Borchers and Jeff Lindgren held the Rox scoreless for three late innings before the Rox were able to push one across in the bottom of the eleventh inning to win the game 8-7.
After the game, second year Larks pitcher, Frank Greco mentioned that this year’s Rox team is extremely talented and might be better than last year’s St. Cloud team that won the Northwoods League Championship.
The Bismarck Larks fall to 4-1 on the season and the St. Cloud Rox improve to 2-3. The Larks will be back in action today with a 4:05 p.m. start time at Joe Faber Field before returning home for a two-game series against the Lacrosse Loggers.
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The Bismarck Larks are a proud affiliate of the Northwoods League, the proven leader in development of elite college baseball players. The Larks mission is to use FUN to make a difference in the lives of our families, businesses, players, and communities we serve. This is accomplished with a commitment to putting fans first and providing high quality family entertainment at affordable prices. In 2017, the Larks sold out 27 of their 36 home games in Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, home of Dakota Community Bank and Trust Field, and were named the Northwoods League’s Organization of the Year.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 190 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
