Thunder Bay, ON – Hance Smith (California) hit both RBI in St. Cloud’s 2-0 win over Thunder Bay at Port Arthur Stadium on Saturday. Jack Cushing (Georgetown) pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out three batters to earn his third win of the season. It was the Rox second shutout victory in Thunder Bay this season.

There were few scoring chances in the game for both teams until the seventh inning. Ryland Kerr (Eastern Kentucky) led off with a single and later stole second base. He would take third base on a passed ball. Smith then hit a ground ball down the third base side, allowing Kerr to score. It gave the Rox a 1-0 lead.

Looking for an insurance run in the ninth inning, St. Cloud received just that. Kerr had another base hit in the half inning and eventually reached second base. Smith hit a line drive into right field and scored Kerr to put the Rox ahead 2-0.

Following Cushing’s strong outing on the mound, Erik Martinez (California) earned his second save of the season. The game ended on a 4-6-3 double play.

St. Cloud combined for 10 hits in the win and eight of the nine batters in the lineup recorded at least one hit. Kerr and Hill had a multi-hit game at the plate.

The win improves the team to 27-30 on the season and 11-10 in the second half. The Rox will have a chance to sweep the Border Cats tomorrow, with a first pitch scheduled for 12:05 PM (CT).

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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