Rochester, MN – St. Cloud (26-12) used a seven-run fifth inning to beat Rochester 9-3 in the series opener on Tuesday. The Rox magic number to clinch the Minnesota/Iowa pod is two.

Ben Norman (Iowa) led off the first inning with a double off the right field wall. Jack Kelly (Minnesota) later scored him on a sac-fly to center field. It put the Rox ahead 1-0.

In the fourth inning, Kodie Kolden (Washington State) reached on a fielder’s choice and scored Sam Ireland (Minnesota). St. Cloud led 2-1.

The Rox exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning, extending their lead to 9-1. Norman led off with a walk and Andrew Pintar (BYU) and Jack Kelly singled to load the bases. Ireland, Jack Winkler (San Francisco) and Collin Montez (Washington State) all drew consecutive walks with the bases loaded, each scoring a run. To highlight the inning, Norman crushed a three-run double to left field.

Landen Bourassa (San Francisco) started the game and tossed four innings. Josh Gainer (LIU-Brooklyn) earned his second win of the season after striking out four batters in two innings pitched. Brandon White (Washington State) struck out five batters after pitching the final three innings and collected his first save of the season.

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

The Rox have now won 17 of their last 20 games.

With the win, the Rox continue to stay in first place of the Minnesota/Iowa pod. The Rox have a .684 winning percentage while the Waterloo Bucks have a .675 winning percentage. The magic number to clinch is two. St. Cloud has two games remaining in the season and the champion will be based on winning percentage. The Rox play at Rochester on Wednesday at Mayo Field with a 6:35 first pitch. 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.