Bismarck, ND – The top two teams in the Great Plains West faced off on Thursday and St. Cloud (17-6) escaped with a 5-4 win over Bismarck (16-9).

After leading from start to finish, the game tightened up in the bottom of the ninth with two Larks scores. With the tying run standing just a base away, Kevin Davis (USC Upstate) struck out the final batter to seal the victory.

The Rox wasted no time to get going offensively as Andrew Pinckney (Alabama) led off the game with a double down the right-field line. With two outs, Pinckney would score on an RBI double from Caleb Ricketts (San Diego). Ricketts came across home a few pitches later to make it 2-0 St. Cloud.

The run support helped Johnny Dow (Georgia State) to his best outing of the season on the mound. Dow threw a season-high eight innings and allowed just two runs on three hits. At times, he was dominant as he didn’t allow a hit or a walk between the third and eighth innings.

St. Cloud’s bats were hot, accounting for 14 hits on the day, a season high. Connor O’Brien (Seattle University) had his best day as a member of the Rox, coming up with two extra-base hits, including what would end up being the decisive home run in the top of the ninth.

Bobby Goodloe (TCU) also had his most impressive outing of the summer with three hits and an RBI. Goodloe has six hits in his first 12 at-bats with St. Cloud.

For a full box score from Thursday’s game, click here.

The Rox have now cushioned their lead in the Great Plains West to two full games over Bismarck and Mankato. St. Cloud has won its last nine contests and 15 of its last 17 games.

The two-game series with the Larks concludes on Friday evening when the Rox return to Bismarck Municipal Ballpark. First pitch of the series finale will be at 7:05 pm.

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’ 27^th 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 250 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 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 Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). 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 App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.