Duluth, MN – In the final game of the first half, St. Cloud (24-8) took care of business with a 12-2 win over Duluth (11-21) and clinched the first-half title in the Great Plains West.

The Rox entered Saturday’s game with a magic number of one, needing just one win or a Mankato loss to lock up a playoff spot. St. Cloud did its job and locked up the division ahead of a two-day break to end the first half.

As has become typical with the Rox, St. Cloud had one huge inning that put it in complete control of the game early on. In their largest output of the season, the Rox tallied nine runs in the third inning, while sending 13 batters to the plate and took an early 11-0 lead.

Jordan Barth (Augustana) led the way for St. Cloud with three hits, including two doubles on the day. Barth brought in two runs in the third inning and ended up scoring three runs for the Rox in his most explosive outing of the season.

The Rox scoring got started in the first inning as Bobby Goodloe (TCU) continued his hot streak at the plate. After bringing in three runs in Friday night’s game, Goodloe singled to center to bring in two runs in the first frame.

Justin Kirby (Kent State) also had three hits and reached base in all six of his plate appearances on the day. Kirby singled three times and also reached first on a walk three times on Saturday.

Hunter Dollander (Georgia-Gwinnett) twirled a gem for his third straight start, allowing just one run in six innings on the mound. Dollander retired the first eleven batters he faced to keep the Rox in control early in the game.

Connor Barison (Washington State) came out and finished the game off in the ninth. Barison retired the side in order to officially clinch the division for the Rox.

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

St. Cloud will have a spot in the Northwoods League postseason which starts on August 15. The Rox are back in action on Tuesday from Joe Faber Field at 7:05 when they open the second half against the Bismarck Larks.

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.