St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (25-12) picked up its fourth shutout win of the season after sweeping Mankato (17-22) by a score of 10-0 on Tuesday.

St. Cloud claimed an early lead in the first inning after Ben Norman (Iowa) led off with a triple to right field. Jack Kelly (Minnesota) later reached first base on a fielder’s choice and was credited with the RBI as the Rox led 1-0.

In the fourth inning, the Rox plated three runs to extend the lead. Collin Montez (Washington State) and Sam Ireland (Minnesota) both hit RBI-singles. Cody Kelly (Minnesota) walked in a run with the bases loaded.

Jack Winkler (San Francisco) picked up his fourth RBI of the season in the fifth inning, blasting a single into center field.

The Rox then scored five runs in the seventh inning to go ahead 10-0. Ireland and Kodie Kolden (Washington State) both hit RBI-singles. Norman later crushed a two-run double to right field to highlight the inning.

RJ Martinez (Minot State) was magnificent in the start, tossing seven innings and striking out a season-high 10 batters. He was named the Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night. Trevor Koenig (St. Cloud State) and Justin Wick (Creighton) also hurled a scoreless inning.

For the full box score from Monday’s game, click here.

The Rox have now won 13 straight games at Joe Faber Field and improve its home record to 17-2 on the season.

With the win, the Rox move into first place of the Minnesota/Iowa pod. They lead the Waterloo Bucks by 0.5 game in the standings. Their magic number to clinch is three. St. Cloud has three games remaining in the season and the champion will be determined off of winning percentage. The Rox play at Rochester on Tuesday and Wednesday at Mayo Field. They finish the season at home against Willmar on Thursday at 7:05 pm. There will be a post-game fireworks show, presented by Texas Roadhouse. 

If you would like more information on tickets for the 2020 season, or more information regarding this press release,  please contact the Rox front office at 320-240-9798 or visit stcloudrox.com.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its 26th season, the Northwoods 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 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.