Willmar, MN – Carlo Graffeo (Minnesota State-Mankato) gave up one hit in four innings pitched but the St. Cloud Rox fell to the Willmar Stingers 6-1 on opening night. The team drops to 0-1 overall but will get another crack at the Stingers Wednesday night.

The scoring began in the top of the first inning for Willmar as they got two runs in on an RBI and an error. St. Cloud got on the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the fifth inning when Ryan Lillard (Arizona State) drilled a ball into leftfield and scored Sergio Esparaza (Arkansas at Pine Bluff) from second base. Lillard finished the game with two hits, both doubles, and the lone RBI of the game for the Rox.

After the St. Cloud cut the deficit in half, the Stingers responded in the bottom of the fifth inning with a run. They went on to score two more runs in the sixth inning and one in the eighth inning.

The Rox used three relief pitchers in the game, including: Ross Bastyr (Concordia University, St. Paul) , Abdallah Salman (Alcorn State), and Sean Hupp (USC Upstate). The trio combined for six strikeouts in the game.

Wednesday, St. Cloud will complete their series with the Stingers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 CT from Bill Taunton Stadium at Baker Field. You can listen live play-by-play on 1390 AM Granite City Sports with the pre-game show beginning at 6:35 PM.

*Box score from tonight’s game*

The Rox will play their 7th season of Northwoods League Baseball in 2018. The home opener at Joe Faber Field is scheduled for Friday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. against the Mankato MoonDogs. The home opener, presented by Coborn’s, will feature post-game fireworks. Season tickets and single game tickets for the 2018 season are currently on sale. For more information regarding this release or to purchase tickets, 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. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.