By: Rox Media

December 31, 2023

Honorable Mentions: Rox Came Back From Down 7-1 to Beat the Willmar Stingers, Twice.

There is never a dull game when the St. Cloud Rox play the Willmar Stingers. That proved to be true on July 26th when the Willmar Stingers came to St. Cloud to face off for the 10th time in 2023. After two innings, the Stingers took a 7-1 lead over the Rox and thought they could cruise their way to another win. That was until the Rox put up 10 runs in the fourth inning to take a 11-7 lead. Willmar then added seven more runs of their own over the next two innings to take a 14-11 lead. St. Cloud then tied the game in the 8th inning 14-14 and was able to hold off Willmar in the top of the 9th for a chance to walk off. In the bottom of the 9th, Anthony Mata was on first base with two outs, Jackson Hauge hit a double into center field to score Mata and win the game for the Rox with a final score of 15-14 in what might have been the game of the year.

A team coming back from 7-1 once already is a hard enough feat, surely it wouldn’t happen again, right? On August 14th, the Rox are playing the Stingers in the first round of the Northwoods League Playoffs, a rematch from last year’s opening round. After five innings, the Rox saw themselves down 7-1 again and had to rally if they didn’t want to be 1-1 in the playoffs, and have a game three in Willmar. The Rox responded by scoring three runs in the 6th, one run in the 7th, and one run in the 8th. In the 9th inning, the Rox were down 6-7 and needed two runs to pull off another miracle. After a Jose Gonzalez walk and a Jackson Hauge single, Anthony Mata singled to center field to score Gonzalez and tie the game. Two batters later, Oscar Serratos Jr. hit a sac fly to score Hauge and take the lead 8-7. Jake Burcham came in to pitch a shutout 9th inning and secured the win for the Rox.

Honorable Mentions: Jackson Hauge Wins NWL Home Run Challenge

The Northwoods League Great Plains All-Star game took place in Bismarck, North Dakota where the Rox had six players represent the Rox in the West Division. Jackson Hauge, one of those All-Stars, competed in the Home Run Challenge the day before. Hauge hit 12 home runs, the most out of anyone in the challenge giving him the title as Home Run Challenge Champion.

5. Piercen McElyea Ties Rox Single Game Strikeout Record

On August 6th, the Rox were playing the Bismarck Larks when the Rox Ace, Piercen McElyea, took the mound for his final start of the 2023 regular season. McElyea looked sharp as he tied a Rox single-game strikeout record with 14 strikeouts. He ties Riley Cornelio, who did it on August 15th, 2021 in game one of the 2021 Northwoods League Playoffs against the Mankato MoonDogs. Cornelio is now in the Washington Nationals system.

4. Rox Win NWL Community Program Of The Year For the Second Consecutive Season. 

Community is a major part of the Rox organization. When the Rox started the Project S.A.V.E. Foundation (now Rox Community Foundation) in 2019, the goal was to give back to Central Minnesota. Now, five years after the foundation started, it has raised over $345,000 which includes more than $156,000 in 2023 alone. The award was voted on by 23 Northwoods League team members.

Some of the key highlights from the 2023 season for the Rox Foundation included:

  • Scholarship Program – Commitment to award 21 individual college scholarships to senior class students attending Central Minnesota High Schools at an investment level of $21,000.
  • Fitness Program – The Rox Foundation created a new pilot program for the St. Cloud Area School District 742 that challenged nearly 2,000 grade level students (3-5) at seven elementary schools to perform a Fitness Activity for “20 minutes” each day over a three-week period in March.
  • RBI Club – Created another pilot program for the St. Cloud School District 742 that provided just over 400 elementary grade (3-5) students at Lincoln Elementary in St. Cloud with Free
  • Reading Books at six different times during the school year to help incentivize the students to Read Books Independently while at home.
  • Sporting Clays Shootout – A third-year event created and managed by the Foundation that is held at the Rice Creek Hunting Club in Little Falls. The 2023 event was sold out and raised just over $60,000 for Project S.A.V.E.
  • Mini Golf Corporate Challenge Cup Tournament – The second-year event, also created and managed by the Foundation, sold out the 18-Hole Tournament at the Lakes Adventure course in Sauk Rapids and raised just over $15,000 for the Central MN Auto Care Association Scholarship program for students advancing their education in the automotive industry.
  • Launch-A-Ball – A fundraising event that took place after each of the seven Rox Friday night home games, raising just over $5,100 for the Sauk Rapids-Rice Youth Baseball Association in support of their campaign to build two new baseball fields.

The Rox would like to also thank the Foundations partners Wells, Miller Auto Plaza, CLA, and Napa Central.

3. Rox Win Webcasting Team of the Year & Best Coverage

Northwoods League teams provide what many consider to be one of the best sports broadcasting developmental opportunities offered. The teams hire video production crew members who have a passion for sports broadcasting, many of whom are seeking their degrees from excellent college broadcasting and media programs in pursuit of a successful career in the broadcasting industry.

Excelling in Northwoods League team broadcasting operations and performing at a level which results in winning one of the annual webcasting awards, typically requires a team to be proactive throughout the year, from the start of the hiring process late in the year through the training months and weeks prior to the season start. It requires good teamwork, collaboration, and engagement throughout the season to continuously improve broadcasting operations as well as to correct deficiencies and issues quickly.

This marks the first time the team has won the Webcasting Team of the Year award, and the second time winning best coverage (2017).

2. Ben Vujovich Walks Of The La Crosse Loggers To Send The Rox To The NWL Championship

On August 15, the Rox were looking to get to the Northwoods League Championship for the second time in three seasons. To do that, they needed to beat the La Crosse Loggers in St. Cloud. The Rox took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. That lead dwindled over six innings and the Loggers eventually tied it in the 6th inning 3-3. St. Cloud responded by scoring four runs in the 7th inning, but that lead only lasted that long as the Loggers scored four runs in the 8th to tie the game 7-7 after eight innings. The Loggers started the 9th inning by scoring one run and taking an 8-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth. In comes Ben Vujovich with a runner on first and third base with one out. Vujovich had gone hitless in the playoffs up to this moment. That streak ended with a single to center field and got the Rox to the Northwoods League Championship for the second time in three seasons.

1. Brice Matthews Drafted In First Round By Houston Astros

The St. Cloud Rox had three players drafted in this years 2023 MLB Draft. It started off on Sunday, July 9th when the defending World Series Champions, the Houston Astros, took former Rox player Brice Matthews (2021-2022) in the first round with the 28th pick. That is the third former Rox player taken in the first round in the clubs’ history. Following that, the Washington Nationals took former Rox players Andrew Pinckney (2021) in the fourth round with the 102nd pick and Nate Rombach (2020) in the 18th round with the 525th pick.

Brice Matthews played 84 games for the Rox over two seasons. He had a .288 average over that span with 24 doubles, eight home runs, 49 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases. In 2022, Matthews played so well for the Rox it earned him a starting spot in the Northwoods League All-Star game where he also competed in the Home Run Derby. Matthews was a key hitter in the Rox 2021 and 2022 seasons that made the Rox the only team in Northwoods League history to have back-to-back 50-win seasons. He joins the likes of Will Craig (2014) and Michael Busch (2017) as first-round picks.

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