Willmar, MN – Scoring six early runs, St. Cloud (19-6) rolled to a 9-0 victory over Willmar (12-15) and secured the longest winning streak in Rox history with 11 in a row.

The Rox hold a two-game advantage over the Mankato MoonDogs in the Great Plains West with one week remaining in St. Cloud’s first-half schedule.

Offensively, the Rox got going quickly, scoring twice in the first inning to take the early lead that was never relinquished. Otto Kemp (Point Loma Nazarene) and Jordan Barth (Augustana) both scored to open up the night.

Kemp followed up his run in the first with an RBI double in the second that capped off a three-run frame. Hitting a fly ball to right field, Kemp brought Andrew Pinckney (Alabama) in from second base.

Pinckney and Connor O’Brien each recorded three hits on the day as both are in the midst of hot streaks. Pinckney has ten hits in his last four games while O’Brien has multi-hit games in his last three outings.

The Rox also got a home run on the day off the bat of Caleb Ricketts (San Diego). The solo shot out to left traveled over 400 feet from home plate and gave the Rox a 7-0 lead. That was Ricketts’ first home run of the season.

This is the Rox’ fourth shutout of the season on the mound as a trio of pitchers combined for another gem. Nathan Culley (Minnesota State-Mankato) went four innings in his first start of the year, allowing just three hits.

Zach Gagnon (Tarleton State) and Andrew Morones (San Joaquin Delta) combined for five innings out of the bullpen to finish off the game and get the Rox’ 11^th straight victory.

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

The Rox will look for their sixth straight sweep on Sunday afternoon as they finish the series with Willmar. First pitch from Joe Faber Field will be at 4:05 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.