St. Cloud, MN – Chris Paul’s two-out walk with the bases loaded in the ninth inning brought in the game-winning run as the St. Cloud Rox defeated the Alexandria Blue Anchors 3-2 Tuesday night at Joe Faber Field. The Rox trailed the Blue Anchors 2-0 heading in to the seventh inning, but rallied for three runs in the last three innings, including a two-run home run from Morgan Phillips in the seventh to break the scoreless streak.

Will Craig made his first start of the year on the mound for the Rox, going 3.1 innings and allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts to earn the no-decision. He was paired in the starting column with Spencer Koopmans of Alexandria, who went six innings, allowed four hits and kept the Rox scoreless. Tyler Peitzmeier came in for relief of Craig in the fourth inning for the Rox and went 3.1 innings while giving up one run on four hits.

Alexandria tallied their runs in the fourth and seventh innings, scoring off singles from Roman Collins and Ben Allen to take a 2-0 lead. The highlight of the night came in the sixth inning with the Rox in the field when Bradley Strong leaped up and made a grab on a ball off the bat of Collins, fired to Seth Heck at second for another out, who then threw to Clay Ardeeser at first for a triple play, the first in Rox history.

The Rox made more noise in the seventh inning when Morgan Phillips smacked his first home run of the season over the left field fence to bring in Kyle Thornell and tie the game at two. Phillips finished the night 2-for-4 for the Rox with two RBIs and two runs scored.

The scored remained the same when in the ninth inning, Kevin Burgee came in to relieve Trevor Charpie, who entered for Peitzmeier in the seventh inning, and retired two batters on a strikeout and batter interference to send the game to the bottom of the ninth still tied.

In the bottom of the ninth, Strong and Boo Vazquez both walked with two outs, which sent Chris Paul to the plate with the winning run on third base. Paul followed the trend and was walked by Alexandria reliever Graylon Brown, sending Phillips in to score the game-winning run and bringing the final score to 3-2. Past Phillips, Vazquez and Scivicque each totaled two hits as Scivicque also doubled in the win.

Tonight’s box score can be found at http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=210378.

The Rox will now head to Alexandria tonight for one game with the Blue Anchors and return to the Rock Pile on June 26^th for a five-game home stand, including a two-game series with the Rochester Honkers beginning Thursday. June 26^th will feature entertainment from ‘Deuces Wild! Dueling Pianos,’ presented by PreferredOne and a post-game diamond dig, where one lucky fan will win a $3,000 diamond ring, presented by Riddle’s Jewelry.

Single game tickets can be purchased 24 hours a day at www.stcloudrox.com, by calling (320) 240-9798 or by visiting the Rox ticket office located at the Municipal Athletic Complex.

For more coverage of the Rox, visit www.sctimes.com