St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (16-3) pulled ahead in a close game late on Monday night to take a 5-2 win from Willmar (12-10) and finish off a sweep of the divisional rivals.

The Rox now sit 5.5 games ahead of the Stingers in the first-half standings in the Great Plains West. The first half ends on July 5, as the first-half champion will automatically qualify for the postseason.

In a tie game heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rox put together a rally to take the lead for good. Albert Choi (NJIT) scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch before the bats really heated up.

Brice Matthews (Nebraska) drove in the next run with a triple into the left-center gap. Then, Matthews scored on an RBI single from Brady Prewitt (CSU-Pueblo) to stretch the lead to three runs.

Trevor Austin (Mercer) had it going with the bat from the start of the game, finishing with three hits and a walk in Monday’s game. Austin also came around to score three of St. Cloud’s five runs on the night.

Matthew McClure (Loyala-Marymount) threw 5.2 innings on the bump and only gave up two runs in his second start of the season. He gave way to Rafael Acosta (Georgia State) who got out of two huge jams to keep the game tied late and earned the win.

Chase Grillo (Washington State) came on to get the final three outs of the game and struck out the side for the second straight outing. Grillo’s six saves are tied for the lead across the Northwoods League.

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

St. Cloud continues its four-game home stand on Tuesday against the Eau Claire Express for the first of a two-game series at the Rock Pile. First pitch from Joe Faber Field is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

For the full 2022 Rox schedule, click here. The 2022 season is presented by Fleet Farm. For more information regarding this release, season tickets and partial season ticket packages for the 2022 season including Kwik Trip 7-Game Packs, please contact the Rox office at 320-240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com.

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’ 28^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 theApple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.