In a game that was dominated by pitching, it was the St. Cloud staff outdueling Rochester in a 3-0 finish.
Rox starter Bryce Robison (BYU) spun a gem in his third start of the season, keeping Honker hitters off-balance all night with the combination of a slow breaking ball and hard fastball. The sophomore tossed 7.2 scoreless innings, racking up a Rox record thirteen punchouts.
Rochester was able to get the leadoff hitter on in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but could not push anything across against Robison. The Honkers’ best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the eighth, with Mike Bolton Jr. (Purdue) pinch-hitting with the bases loaded and two-out, but Rox reliever Connor Barison (Washington St) was able to escape the jam with a strikeout.
St. Cloud took the lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Jack Winkler (San Francisco) in the fourth and added two runs in the final two frames of the ballgame. A Tyson Fisher (Dixie St) RBI groundout and Rochester error produced the final two tallies of the night.
On the mound, Brant Alazaus (Walsh) was the tough-luck loser for Rochester. He allowed just one run on five hits, with six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Rochester drops to 5-9 on the season and will open a two-game weekend series with Mankato tomorrow beginning at 6:35.
By Nick DeLuca// Broadcasting and Media Relations Intern