St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox announced the signing of four additional players for the 2017 season today. The list includes returning pitcher from Southeastern Louisiana University, Carlo Graffeo, College of Charleston infielder Luke Manzo, infielder Daniel Schneemann and pitcher Kenny Saenz both from Brigham Young University.
Graffeo will return following his sophomore season at Southeastern Louisiana University. Last season with the Rox, he pitched in nine games making seven starts. He posted a 3-0 record with a 2.04 earned run average over 44 innings pitched in 2016. This spring for the Lions, Graffeo has appeared in one game and has a 0.00 earned run average.
Manzo is a sophomore infielder at College of Charleston. The Marietta, Georgia native appeared and started in 54 games for the Cougars as a freshman in 2016. This spring Manzo has started all 20 games and leads the team with a .413 batting average and a team high 31 hits. In the field, he has a .949 fielding percentage in 99 chances.
Schneemann, an infielder, is in his sophomore season at Brigham Young University. He has started in 17 games this season for the Cougars and has a .352 batting average including five doubles, two triples and two home runs. Schneemann leads his team with four stolen bases on the season. As a freshman, he was named to the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team.
Saenz is a pitcher at Brigham Young University, redshirting this season due to NCAA transfer rules. Prior to transferring to Brigham Young University, Saenz pitched his freshman and sophomore seasons for University of Oklahoma. During his two seasons with the Sooners, he pitched in 16 games and had a 3.46 earned run average.
In total the Rox now have 16 players under contract for the 2017 season. Field Manager Augie Rodriguez, along with the Rox organization will continue to build the roster for the 2017 season.
The Rox will play their 6th season of Northwoods League Baseball in 2017. The home opener at Joe Faber Field is scheduled for Friday, June 2nd at 7:05 pm against the Rochester Honkers. The home opener, presented by Coborn’s, will feature post-game fireworks. Season and group tickets for the 2017 season are currently on sale. For more information regarding this release please contact the Rox front office at (320) 240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com
The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate 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 160 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.