La Crosse, WI – Nate Swarts tied the single-game franchise record with five hits, including two home runs to help St. Cloud (27-9) to a 13-8 win over La Crosse (16-24).

The Rox’ nine-hitter ended up being the best player on the field on Friday night as Nate Swarts (Washington State) crushed two solo shots and had five total hits to lead St. Cloud to victory. The 13 runs scored on the night was the highest total this season for the Rox.

It wasn’t just Swarts who had a big night. Andrew Pinckney (Alabama) returned to the lineup and had his best day of the season. Pinckney had four hits on Friday, scored three times and drove in two runs at the top of the order.

Jordan Barth (Augustana) had three hits to climb his average to the highest it’s been this season at .279. It was also a big night for the middle infield as Jack Winkler (San Francisco) and Connor O’Brien (Seattle University) each knocked in three runs. O’Brien hit a three-run homer in the first to give the Rox an early 4-0 win.

In his first start of the season, Nate Peterson (Illinois-Chicago) went five-and-a-third innings and allowed just three earned runs. Peterson struck out a season-high eight batters and earned the victory over the Loggers.

Out of the bullpen, Josh Gainer (Long Island-Brooklyn) entered in a tough spot as the lead had tightened up to just two runs. Gainer threw two-and-a-third innings, retiring all seven batters he faced and struck out five of them.

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

The Rox are now halfway done with a four-game road trip after the series with the Loggers. Next, St. Cloud travels to Waterloo for a two-game series with the Bucks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm on Saturday evening.

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’ 27th 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.