Bismarck, ND – John Matthews (Kent State) pitched seven shutout innings and struck out nine batters but St. Cloud (16-20) fell by a final score of 3-0 to the Bismarck Larks (25-11). The lone RBI of the game for the Rox was credited to Ryan Weisenberg (Georgetown), when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.

There weren’t many scoring opportunities for either team in the game. For Bismarck, they stranded a runner at third base three separate times. It was the work of Matthews who helped the Rox get out of those situations. He finished the game with nine strikeouts, no walks allowed, and one earned run.

After Bismarck pushed across three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, St. Cloud responded. Gus Steiger (South Dakota State) led off the inning with a base hit to left field. He later advanced to second base as Ryland Kerr (Eastern Kentucky) got on base due to fielder’s choice. Bobby Seymour (Wake Forest) then reached base on an error from Bismarck’s second baseman, which loaded the bases. Weisenberg drew a walk to cut the deficit to two runs, but the Rox comeback would end there.

The other pitcher used in the game for the Rox was Erik Martinez (UC-Berkeley), who came in out of the bullpen in the eighth inning.

St. Cloud will begin the second half of the season tomorrow in Duluth, with a 3:05 first pitch time at Wade Stadium. It’ll be the second series of the year between the two teams.

The Rox will be back at home on Thursday, July 5 as the team continues to celebrate Independence Day. The Rox will wear their military appreciation jerseys one last time. There will be post game fireworks.

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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