August 4, 2024

Bottom of the 9th inning. Bases loaded. Two outs. Brandon Jaenke got Ricardo Aponte to ground out to third base to end the game.

“All the confidence in the world,” said St. Cloud Rox Manager Nick Studdard of Jaenke. “It’s death, taxes, and Brandon Jaenke in the 9th. That’s what I went out there and told him, hey man, there is no one on the planet that is better than you in this situation.”

The St. Cloud Rox took a quick lead in the top of the 1st inning, as Larks starting pitcher hit Jackson Cooke with a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in a run. The Rox would tack on a run in the 4th inning off of Eric Bello’s RBI single.

The Larks struck back in the 7th inning. Jesus Vasquez hit a pitch back up the middle to drive in a run. Riley Leatherman would then throw a wild pitch with a runner on third base, resulting in the game being tied up at two.

However, the Rox came right back. Wilmis Castro crushed a solo home run off of Kai Mayfield to begin the top of the 8th inning. “I was just looking for a good pitch, trying to get ahead in the count, and just not miss it,” said Castro. “The last few days I was missing a lot of pitches, and my coaches just told me to try and get a good pitch and drive it out.”

With the win, the Rox improve to 44-20 on the season. Their .688 win percentage is the best mark in the Northwoods League.