Mankato, MN – Kenny Saenz (BYU) struck out eight batters and allowed one run in six innings pitched but St. Cloud (14-13) fell 6-5 in ten innings against Mankato (17-10). Ryland Kerr (Eastern Kentucky) finished with three RBI in the game.

The MoonDogs would strike first in the bottom of the first inning and claimed a 1-0 lead. From there, it was all about Saenz and his curveball pitch. Mankato wouldn’t score another run off of him in the rest of the game.

St. Cloud found their groove in the top of the fifth inning, as the team loaded the bases. That’s when Kerr drilled a ball into right field and it rolled to the wall. It ended up being a bases clearing, stand-up triple and gave the team their first lead of the game. The next batter was Landon Stephens (Miami-Ohio), who hit a sac-fly to center field and scored Kerr.

The Rox would take their 4-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. Mankato, who hadn’t scored since the first inning, pushed four runs across and reclaimed a brief lead. The next half inning, Ricardo Sanchez (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) hit a sac-fly to center field and scored Bobby Seymour (Wake Forest) from third base to tie the game, 5-5.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Mankato had runners on second and third base with no outs. Their top three hitters in the batting order then went three up, three down as Finn Del Bonta-Smith (San Jose State) struck them all out. In the ninth inning, he would strike out the next three batters. He finished with six strikeouts in two innings pitched.

The MoonDogs would eventually hit a walk-off in the bottom of the tenth inning to win the game.

St. Cloud used five pitcher after Saenz. Spencer Mraz (Miami-Ohio), Evan Johnson (Creighton), Landon Clifton (LSU Eunice), Finn Del Bonta-Smith, and Jake Suddreth (BYU) all saw work on the mound.

The Rox return home tomorrow as they look to split the two-game series with the MoonDogs. They’ll be at the Rock Pile Tuesday through Saturday.

The Rox are in their seventh season of Northwoods League Baseball in 2018. Single game and group tickets for the entire season are on sale now. For more information on purchasing tickets, visit the Rox Ticket Office on the west end of the Municipal Athletic Complex, call 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. Now in 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.

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