SAINT CLOUD, Minn – A big fifth inning by the St. Cloud Rox erased an early deficit and sent the Rockford Rivets to their sixth straight loss on Thursday night at Joe Faber Field by a score of 5-2.

The Rivets would strike first.  Ricardo Ramirez (Illinois-Chicago), returning from injury, hit a one out solo home run in the second to open the scoring.  It was the first lead for Rockford since last Thursday night in Wisconsin Rapids.

The lead stood until the fifth, when a seven pitch sequence changed the game.  Indian Hills CC starter Trevor Kiminksi (0-3) walked Ricky Ramirez (McNeese State).  That was followed by a double from Luke Ringhofer (South Dakota State).  Then the scoring began, as Michael Strem (Boston College) singled home Ramirez to tie the game, Denis Karas (Cal-Berkeley) sscored Ringhofer with a single, and Brett Pope (Wesstern Carolina) hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. 

That was more than enough for Rox starter Dan Metzdorf (Boston College) who went seven and one-thirds innings to pick up the win and go to 3-1 on the year.  Brian Glowicki (Minnesota) earned his sixth save with a perfect ninth inning.

The Rivets wrap up the two game series against the St. Cloud Rox at Joe Faber Field on Friday night at 7:05. Broadcasts and live streams can be found at NorthwoodsLeague.com. 

Rockford is a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League, which will play its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016. The Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox), Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit Tigers), Curtis Granderson (New York Mets), Lucas Duda (Mets) and Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website, NorthwoodsLeague.com. For more information, visit RockfordRivets.com.