Offense Powers Rox Past Honkers

Rochester, MN – It was an offensive outburst for the Rox on Friday, as St. Cloud (25-12) took down the Rochester Honkers (7-31) by a final score of 15-5 at Mayo Field. The Rox tied a season high by tallying 20 hits in the win. Recently named All-Star Collin Strall (LSU) was once again magnificent out of the bullpen, tossing four shutout innings and picked up his sixth save of the season.

St, Cloud immediately got the bats started in the contest. In the first inning Michael Strem (Boston College) and Brett Pope (Western Carolina) each had RBI singles, giving the Rox a 2-0 advantage. Rochester quickly responded, tying the game in the bottom of the inning.

2016 Northwoods League All-Star Ricky Ramirez (McNeese State) connected with a sacrifice fly to score Webb Bobo (Southeastern Louisiana), as St. Cloud bounced back to grasp a 3-2 lead in the second inning. The offense continued to roll in the third  inning, as the Rox tallied three runs on four hits. Ben DeLuzio (Florida State), Strem, Denis Karas (Cal Berkeley) and Pope all had hits in the frame.

Strem stayed hot in the fourth inning, launching a solo home run to left-centerfield. After six innings the Rox held a 7-5 lead, and scored five runs in the eighth to extend the lead to 13-5.

The Rox and Honkers will meet again Saturday at Mayo Field starting at 7:05 with the Rox Solid Pregame Warmup starting at 6:35 p.m. on 1390 AM The Fan. The Rox will return home to the Rock Pile on Sunday to take on the La Crosse Loggers. It will be Super Hero Night presented by Mobil Super! Come out to the ballpark dressed as your favorite super hero! It is also Coborn’s Kid’s Day. Kids will have the opportunity to run the bases after the game and get autographs on the field.

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.

Tonight’s game one St. Cloud Times Player of the Game was Michael Strem. Strem had four hits and three RBI, including a home run. For more coverage of the Rox during the 2016 season visit www.sctimes.com.

For more stats and information about the game, here is the boxscore.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball, 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 (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com