November 15, 2016
St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox announced on today that five players from the 2016 roster will return for the 2017 season. The list includes pitchers Robbie Palkert and Shelby Lackey catchers Luke Ringhofer and Brendan Illies and infielder Angelo Altavilla.
Palkert, a sophomore right handed pitcher at the University of Nebraska returns after pitching 41.2 innings over 17 games for the Rox in 2016. He had a 3-1 record on the mound while also collecting four saves. The Golden Valley, Minnesota native only allowed eight earned runs on the season, posting a 1.73 earned run average.
Lackey is a sophomore right handed pitcher at the University of the Pacific. He returns after pitching 48.1 innings over 10 games for the Rox last season. Lackey had a 2-0 record with a 3.53 earned run average in 2016. He was also selected to play in the Major League Dreams Showcase last summer where he threw two innings.
Ringhofer, a junior catcher from South Dakota State University returns to the Rox following his All-Star season in 2016. He saw action in 63 games, hitting for a .305 average and setting the Rox single season walks record with 56. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota native was selected to play in the Northwoods League All-Star Game and Major League Dreams Showcase last season, hitting a combined 4 for 6 with two runs batted in.
Illies, a sophomore catcher from the University of North Carolina returns after playing 45 games for the Rox last season. He drove in 24 runs in 2016, with a .205 batting average. Illies was a 33rd round draft pick by the New York Mets out of high school in 2015.
Altavilla is a sophomore infielder at the University of Nebraska. Last season he played in 20 games for the Rox. He had a .183 batting average with two homeruns. Defensively, Altavilla had a .960 fielding percentage. Out of high school, the Lakeville, Minnesota native was a 2015 All-Metro selection and was a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Baseball Award.
The Rox will open their 6th season of Northwoods League baseball in late May of 2017. Season tickets for the 2017 season are currently on sale. For more information regarding this release please contact the Rox front office at (320) 240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com
The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized summer collegiate baseball league in the world with 20 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, over 160 former 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 or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.
