Eau Claire, WI — Shane Selman (McNeese State) has arguably been the best hitter this season. Wednesday night was no different. In the top of the 10th, he delivered an RBI double that scored Mason Mamarella (Kent State) from 1st. It was just the 3rd run of the game and 1st one since the 5th inning. Selman scored later to add the insurance run.

Brent Killam (Georgetown) entered in the bottom half and closed out Eau Claire for a 3-1 St. Cloud win in extra innings. Killam added his team leading 4th save of the season, and still hasn't allowed a run in June. The lefty faced four hitters and struck out two to seal the 19th win of the year, and keep the Rox 1.5 games behind the Bucks for 1st place in the North Division.

A game delayed by 90 minutes due to rain, featured another stellar night from both teams pitching staffs. St. Cloud had the upper hand tonight though, where from start to finish they were dominant. Robbie Palkert (Nebraska) went 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits. That run and 2 of those hits came in the 1st inning. From that point on, the sophomore struck out 8 and allowed a single and walk for the next four innings.

Jake Stevenson (Minnesota), Drew Avans (SE Louisiana), John Matthews (Kent State) and Killam then took over and combined for 2 hits, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. If you are looking for the biggest takeaway from tonight it is once again a Rox bullpen that when it gets going it's tough to stop. On a day the offense struggled to drive in runs, they didn't give an inch to the Express and just waited for their hitters to make a play.

As far as an outstanding individual effort, Avans carried the team for the majority of the game. He did it all, at the plate and on the mound. The two-way Junior collected an RBI single in the 5th inning, and also hit a triple in the 7th.In the bottom half, he came in with 1 out and the bases loaded and delivered huge back-to-back outs to end the inning scoreless.

Several players made key plays on the night, and it all ended up being the difference in a game, but there were none bigger than the ones made by Avans and Selman. 

St. Cloud looks to build a new winning streak with 7 games left in the 1st half of the season with it set to return home tomorrow night at 7:05 PM. The first of three homes games starts against the Border Cats. It is going to be deuces wild! Dueling Pianos will be performing throughout the game presented by PreferedOne. Thursday night's contest is SOLD OUT, but there are still a limited number of tickets available for Friday and Saturday. For tickets you can visit our website, stcloudrox.com, or call our ticket office at the MAC 9 AM through 5 PM weekdays at 320-240-9798.

Tonight's Box Score.

Northwoods League Standings.

Wednesday's St. Cloud Times Player(s) of the Night go to Drew Avans and Shane Selman. Avans went 2-4 with an RBI single, triple and walk. He then pitched 1.2 innings in relief and got out of a bases loaded jam when he entered the game. Selman had the go-ahead double in the 10th inning to drive in Mason Mamarella from 1st. 

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 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, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two- time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). 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.