MANKATO, MN – St. Cloud (0-1) dropped its season opener, 3-1, to the Mankato MoonDogs (3-0) on Wednesday night.

Mankato’s runs all came in the third inning off of a two-run home run from catcher Cole Andalvogyi and an RBI single from Matthew Higgins.

The Rox loaded the bases in the seventh inning with no outs and had a chance to jump back into the game. However, they only brought in one run as Tyson Fisher drove in Justin Kirby on a sacrifice fly to left field.

The T-Mobile Player of the Game was starting pitcher Johnny Dow from Georgia Highlands who started off the season with six strong innings on the mound. Dow settled down after allowing the three runs in the third and pitched three more scoreless innings.

Nathan Culley came out of the bullpen and added two shutout frames to finish off the night and hold the MoonDogs where they were at three runs heading to the ninth.

St. Cloud couldn’t get the bats to heat up late and keep the game alive, but the Rox will have another chance at Mankato on Thursday at ISG Field. Game two of the series will have first pitch at 6:35 pm as the Rox try to split the series.

For more information regarding this release, season tickets and partial season ticket packages for the 2021 season including Kwik Trip 7-Game Packs, please contact the Rox office at 320-240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com.