July 23, 2021
St. Cloud, MN – Despite multiple comeback attempts from Waterloo (28-21), St. Cloud (36-12) pulled out a 9-8 victory in front of the home crowd on Friday night.
The Rox took an early lead in the first after Otto Kemp hit a two-RBI double to start the scoring. Kemp bounced back from an 0-for-3 day on Thursday with two hits tonight to key the Rox offense early in the game.
St. Cloud would tally three more runs in the third inning despite not recording a hit and take a 5-0 lead. However, Waterloo would bounce back to retake the lead in the fourth, forcing the Rox to answer.
The bats would return the favor in the fifth inning with four runs of their own to retake the lead. Nate Swarts (Washington State) and Nick Yovetich (San Francisco) would each bring in two runs in the inning to put the Rox back on top.
The bullpen slammed the door in the final five frames, starting with four innings from Bryce Hackett (Tarleton State). Hackett allowed just one unearned run on one hit and struck out five to get the Rox into the ninth inning with the lead intact.
Connor Barison (Washington State) came on and clinched his sixth save of the season. Barison allowed a run in the ninth, but was able to induce the game-ending groundout to clinch a third straight win for the Rox.
For a full box score from Friday’s game, click here.
The Rox still lead the Northwoods League by two-and-a-half games over the Mankato MoonDogs after the win and are on top of the Great Plains West by two games in the second-half standings. For the full Northwoods League Standings, click here.
St. Cloud starts a crucial series with the MoonDogs on Saturday evening to finish off the four-game homestand. First pitch from Joe Faber Field is scheduled for 6:05 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’ 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.
