Waterloo, IA — On Opening Day in 2017, Rox RHP Jack Cushing (Georgetown) put together an incredible performance. The Sophomore threw five complete innings, struck out nine and did not walk a single batter. Still, with a 3-0 lead in tact after leaving the game the Rox could not preserve the lead, ultimately falling 5-4 to the Waterloo Bucks.

Matt Tarantino (Pacific) and Erc Feliz (Notre Dame) added RBI doubles in the 3rd and 9th innings, respectively. St. Cloud opened the scoring thanks to Tarantino's double that brought in two runs. Then in the 5th inning Nicola Mislinski added an RBI single. That rounded out the scoring for the Rox, where the team had some trouble with runners in scoring position and made a couple costly errors.

After Cushing finished his outing, the Bucks got back in the game with four runs in the bottom of the 6th and then added one more in the next inning. Ahead 5-3 going into the 9th, Waterloo hung on to win with the tying run on second base with two outs, and eventually struck out the side. 

The Rox return tomorrow night at 6:35 PM for game two of the series before heading to Rochester for another road game on Thursday night. 

The Rox are back at Joe Faber Field Friday night for its home opener against the Rochester Honkers. FIrst pitch is set for 7:05 PM with the Rox Solid Pregame Warmpup starting at 6:35. 

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 Times Player of the Game is Jack Cushing. The RHP went 5 innings with 9 K, 0 BB, 0 ER and just 5 H. 

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