St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud finished off a sweep of Mankato on Monday night and has advanced to the Great Plains Championship game, to be played on Tuesday against Waterloo.

The bats took over in the seventh inning after the game had gone back and forth. Six runs came across in the frame, jumpstarted by a two-RBI double by Brice Matthews (Nebraska). The Rox entered the inning up by one and left with a 9-2 lead.

Early in the game, Otto Kemp (Point Loma Nazarene) was leading the offense, driving in a run with a double in the first inning to give St. Cloud the first lead. He came around to score in the fourth inning as well to put the Rox back on top.

Hunter Dollander (Georgia-Gwinnett) gave the Rox another great start on the mound, throwing five innings and giving up just two earned runs. In some tough spots early, Dollander was able to limit the MoonDogs bats and get out of jams. Dollander has not allowed more than two runs in any game this season.

Out of the bullpen, Josh Gainer (Long Island-Brooklyn) continued his storybook season with three shutout innings. Gainer struck out four batters to bridge the gap from Dollander to Trevor Koenig (St. Cloud State) who retired the side in the ninth. In over 25 innings pitched this season, Gainer has yet to allow an earned run.

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

In the season series with the Bucks, the Rox have won five out of the last six. St. Cloud and Waterloo will face off on Tuesday at Joe Faber Field for a chance to play in the Northwoods League Championship game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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.