St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (2-3) took a 6-4 lead into the top of the ninth inning but fell 9-6 to the Bismarck Larks (5-0) in front of a Rock Pile crowd of 1,941. Thomas Delgadillo (Academy of Art) went 4-4 at the plate, falling one hit shy of tying the Rox single game record for most hits in a game.

After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the second inning, the Rox went to work. In the bottom of the second inning, Garrett Delano (Brown) drilled a double down the right field line that scored Brendan Tinsman (Wake Forest) from first base. Zack Elliott (Minnesota) followed in the next at-bat with an RBI double, scoring Delano. Delgadillo would later hit an RBI single up the middle that scored Elliott and gave St. Cloud the 3-2 lead.

With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Delgadillo hit an RBI single into left field that scored Ben Carew (Kent State) and reclaimed the lead for the Rox at 4-3.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, St. Cloud and Bismarck were tied once again with a score of 4-4. That would change in the half inning when Delano drilled a double to right field that scored Tinsman. Elliott followed with a sac-fly that scored Delano and gave the Rox a 6-4 lead.

After surrendering five runs in the top of the ninth inning, St. Cloud responded by loading the bases. Ultimately, the rally came up just short.

Cam Kline (Minnesota State-Mankato) earned the start, throwing six innings and striking out five batters. Blake Stelzer (Concordia-St. Paul), Kevin Davis (USC Upstate) and Taylor Lepard (USC Upstate) each hurled an inning out of the bullpen.

St. Cloud will face Bismarck in the series finale on Sunday at the Rock Pile with a first pitch time of 4:05. It’s baseball bat giveaway presented by CentraCare Neurosciences Stroke Center. The first 300 fans 14 and under receive a youth baseball bat. It’ll also be Coborn’s Kids Day, as children will have a chance to run the bases after the game and get post-game autographs from the Rox players and coaches.

All single games tickets – including to the home opener – can be purchased now in person at the Rox Ticket Office located at the Municipal Athletic Complex, by calling the Rox Ticket office at 320-240-9798 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or 24 hours a day by visiting www.stcloudrox.com.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 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 (MIA).  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.