St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox came close to a late-inning rally Friday night, but fell in the series finale to the Duluth Huskies 5-4 at Joe Faber Field. The Rox tallied two runs in the eighth inning and had the tying run in scoring position, but could not get the runner across as they went down in the ninth as well to give the Huskies the victory in front of a crowd of 1,903.

The Rox tallied three of their four runs off home runs Friday night as Morgan Phillips got the scoring going in the fourth inning with a solo home run, his third long ball of the season. After Liam Bedford doubled in the sixth inning to score Will Craig, Craig came up big in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run to left field to make it 5-4 late as he finished the night with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Reese Gregory took the start for the Rox and threw the first six innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits and striking out six to take the loss (4-2). He was relieved by Tyler Deel in the seventh, who closed out the game for the Rox and let one run across on two hits.

Bedford led the Rox with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate, including two doubles, which gives him four on the season. Clay Ardeeser also doubled in the game and Phillips finished with two hits as the Rox are now 9-9 in the second half of the season and 28-25 overall.

Tonight’s box score can be found at http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=210583.

The Rox and the Green Bay Bullfrogs will now meet for a two-game series beginning tomorrow night at 6:05 p.m. at Joe Faber Field, before the Northwoods League All-Star Break takes place early next week. Tomorrow night will be Rox Drawstring Backpack Giveaway presented by the Central Minnesota Credit Union as the first 300 kids 12-and-under will receive a drawstring backpack. Sunday is Military Appreciation Night, presented by Country Manor Health Care and Rehab Center, and the first 300 fans will receive a trading card set of our local veterans.

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.