La Crosse, WI – St. Cloud (33-34) rallied from a five-run deficit in the final three innings of play to defeat La Crosse, 8-6, at Copeland Park. Michael Borst (Minot State) drilled a grand slam in the seventh inning to put St. Cloud in the lead for good. Ryan Davis (Georgetown) broke the Rox single season record for doubles with his 21st of the year. The record was previously held by Chris Paul.

The Rox claimed the first lead of the game in the third inning when the team loaded the bases. Landon Stephens (Miami-Ohio) hit a sac-fly deep into right field, scoring Sean Ross (San Diego State). The Loggers would add a run in the following half inning.

Following a five-run fifth inning for La Crosse, St. Cloud trailed 6-1 with three innings of play. They would need just one inning to reclaim the lead.

Davis led off the seventh inning with his record breaking double to center field, which provided a spark. The Rox proceeded to load the bases with no outs. Stephens and Noah Hill (BYU) each picked up an RBI as they each walked in a run, cutting the deficit to three.

That’s when Borst belted his first home run of the season, a grand slam over the right field wall. It was the second grand slam of the season for St. Cloud.

The Loggers responded by loading the bases with no outs in the next half inning. Justin Wick (Creighton) struck out a batter and was then followed by a 6-4-3 double play to get St. Cloud out of the jam.

Jack Barrie (Reinhardt) added an RBI in the eighth inning to extend the Rox lead to 8-6. That was all the scoring necessary to pick up the victory.

Zach Lazon (Concordia St. Paul) started the game and struck out five batters in five innings pitched. Wick earned the win, throwing a season-high three innings and striking out four batters. Joey Stock (St. Johns) earned his first save of the season, tossing the ninth inning.

The Rox will have an off day tomorrow as the Major League Dreams Showcase will be taking place in Madison, Wisconsin. Rox Field Manager Al Newman will manage a team with Pitching Coach Scott Lieser. Erik Martinez (California), Kyle Richardson (Texas A&M), Finn Del Bonta-Smith (San Jose State), and Evan Johnson (Creighton) will all be participating.

St. Cloud will return to action Wednesday evening for the series finale against La Crosse. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 at Copeland Park.

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, 200 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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