St. Cloud, Minn. –  In a battle of North Division leaders on Saturday at the Rock Pile, the St. Cloud Rox (19-10, 43-21) outhit the Mankato MoonDogs (19-10, 41-23) but could not overcome an early deficit, falling by a final score of 4-1.

The two teams are now tied at the top of the second half standings, with whomever coming out on top securing home field advantage for a playoff game. The Rox still hold the best record in the overall North Division standings, and Northwoods League between either division.

Mankato found the scoreboard early, plating three runs in the first two innings. Austin Caspersen (St. Cloud State) came on in the third and shut down the MoonDogs. He pitched the final 7.0 innings of the game, allowing just one unearned run. He struck out three batters and had his second outing of the year in which he lasted seven innings without an earned run.

The Rox managed to put a runner on base every inning, and outhit the MoonDogs 8-7, but couldn’t find a way to bring the runners home. Ricky Ramirez (McNeese State) paced the offense with a three hit night that included two doubles and an RBI.

The lone St. Cloud run would come in the seventh inning. Drew Freedman (Nova Southeastern) started the inning by being hit by a pitch. Ramirez then followed with a double off the wall in right field that allowed Freedman to show off his speed and score from first.

In the ninth, the Rox would launch a comeback effort that would fall just short. Ramirez led off the frame with another double, putting a runner in scoring position. He would advance to third on a Michael Strem (Boston College) groundout. Angelo Altavilla (Nebraska) was hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners and bringing up Brett Pope (Western Carolina) as the tying run. Pope would hit a grounder to the shortstop to end the game.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday at the Rock Pile. It will be Military Appreciation Day presented by Rapid Recovery & Aquatic Center. The Rox will be wearing special camouflage jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game.

Tonight’s St. Cloud Times Player of the Game was Ricky Ramirez for his three hits and RBI. 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.

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.

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 or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.