August 15, 2023
ST. CLOUD, MN – The St. Cloud Rox (43-25) took the Great Plains Championship against the La Crosse Loggers (40-28) with a 9-8 final score, Tuesday, August 15th. St. Cloud advances to the Northwoods League Championship game to take on the winner of the Great Lakes Championship.
The starting pitcher for St. Cloud was Piercen McElyea. McElyea worked through 5.1 innings in his 1st playoff start, striking out seven batters while giving up three earned runs. McElyea was a Great Plains Postseason All-Star, finishing the regular season with the team-lead in innings pitched (54.0) and strikeouts (56) with a 2.83 ERA.
The one-game series was back-and-forth through the full nine innings, as the Rox were down by a run working into the 9th inning. Ben Vujovich was the hero for St. Cloud, sending home Noah Greise to walk off the Loggers in the Great Plains Championship game. Michael McNamara was an offensive force, driving in four runs with two doubles in the victory. Anthony Mata had three hits, including a double, with a run scored. In three playoff games, Mata has seven hits, five RBI, and four runs scored.
St. Cloud used two arms out of the bullpen. Daniel Caylor was the first arm, battling through 2.0 innings in his lone playoff appearance, striking out a batter. Jake Burcham pitched the final 1.2 innings, his 2nd appearance for St. Cloud in the 2023 playoffs.
Today’s All-Star Trophy and Awards Star of the game is Michael McNamara!
The Rox continue the playoffs in the championship game on Friday, August 18th, against the Great Lakes champion. You can find tickets here. The 2023 Rox playoffs are presented by Minnwest Bank. For a complete game & promotional schedule, ticket information and everything Rox please visit www.stcloudrox.com
