July 16, 2021
St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (33-11) fell behind by four runs early but erupted late in the game to take home a 10-5 win over Bismarck (22-21) on Friday night.
This win keeps the Rox atop the Northwoods League standings, now three-and-a-half games ahead of Mankato in overall standings and three games up on the MoonDogs and the Larks in the second half. For the full Northwoods League Standings, click here.
The offense was keyed by all-stars Otto Kemp (Point Loma Nazarene) and Caleb Ricketts (San Diego) who both came up a triple shy of the cycle. Kemp started the scoring with a two-run home run out to left field, while Ricketts’ two-run homer gave the Rox the lead for good.
Jack Steil (Nebraska) also broke out for his first big game as a member of the Rox. Steil went two-for-four and was able to drive in a run on an RBI double to help St. Cloud continue to stretch its lead.
The bullpen cleaned up after a tough pitching performance early in the game. Josh Gainer (Long Island-Brooklyn) came through in the sixth and the seventh, retiring six straight batters to end his outing.
The Rox’ two closers finished it off to get St. Cloud back in the win column. Connor Barison (Washington State) worked tossed a scoreless eighth inning and then Kevin Davis (USC Upstate) finished it off in the ninth.
For a full box score from Friday’s game, click here.
St. Cloud will travel to Waterloo to start a two-game series with the Bucks on Saturday. First pitch from Riverfront Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 pm. The Rox return home to the Rock Pile after the all-star break to start a four-game homestand on Thursday, July 22.
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.
