Duluth, MN – On a chilly night, Austin Caspersen kept the Duluth (4-3) bats cold and the St. Cloud Rox (3-4) won their third straight contest, 3-0, at Wade Stadium. Caspersen tossed 7 shutout innings, walked only one batter, and registered five strikeouts. It is the fourth time this season a Rox starting pitcher has lasted 6 or more innings. Duluth and St. Cloud posted six hits each, but the Rox prevailed in the run column.

Offense was difficult to discover throughout the beginning of the game. The Rox did not record their first hit until the 4^th inning. Luke Ringhofer produced a ground ball single into the outfield. Ben Petersen (North Dakota State) hit a skyscraper pop up to shallow right field and Zach Orchard misplayed the ball as it hit the turf. Then, with Chris Kwitzer (Buffalo) at the plate, Duluth starter Martin Alcoverde delivered a wild pitch that skidded underneath the catcher and went to the backstop. Ringhofer scored on the wild pitch and St. Cloud took a 1-0 lead after four innings.

St. Cloud got some serious defensive help in the bottom of the fourth inning. Austin LaDoux (Grand Valley State) made a leaping catch over the Rox dugout railing to end the frame. The Huskies stranded two runners that inning and the Granite City club still led 1-0.

Insurance arrived in the top of the eighth inning for the Rox. Ricky Ramirez (McNeese State) produced his team leading third multi-hit game after a double to lead off the frame. Mason Maramella (Kent State) earned an RBI ground out, which scored Ramirez. Ricky’s team leading 8^th run scored all season put the Rox up 2-0. Chris Kwitzer (Buffalo) knocked in another run with an RBI line drive single to left field and it was 3-0 St. Cloud after eight innings.

RHP Andrew Burnick (University of Pennsylvania) slammed the door in the final innings out of the bullpen for the Rox. The junior logged two innings of shutout ball and did not walk a batter to ultimately pick up the save.

The Rox are right back at it Tuesday at 11:35 a.m. CT at Wade Stadium. RHP Austin Dubsky (Murray State) starts for St. Cloud. He went six innings and only allowed two runs in his first outing of the season. The Rox Solid Pregame Warmup starts at 11:05 a.m. CT on Tuesday morning.

Tonight’s St. Cloud Times Player of the Game is RHP starter Austin Caspersen. He tossed 7 innings in a shutout victory. For more coverage of the Rox during the 2016 season visit www.sctimes.com.

For more stats and information about tonight’s game, here is the boxscore:

http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=316667

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.

It’s opening week in Minnesota in the Northwoods League presented by Minnesota College Savings Plan.

The Minnesota College Savings Plan, is Minnesota’s official 529 college savings plan. It takes just $25 to start, making it easier for families to save for higher education expenses. Funds saved can be used at colleges, technical schools and grad schools nationwide to cover the cost of tuition, as well as books, supplies and other qualified expenses. Additionally, SavingforCollege.com recently ranked the Minnesota College Savings Plan as one of the nation’s top performing direct sold 529 plans. Find out more at www.mnsaves.org

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23^rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, the Northwoods League is the largest summer collegiate 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com.