ST. CLOUD ROX vs. LA CROSSE LOGGERS

July 21-22 

Joe Faber Field (St. Cloud, Minnesota) 

 

St. Cloud: 33-18, 9-6 second half | Great Plains West 

La Crosse: 30-16, 8-4 second half | Great Plains East 

 

Tuesday, July 21 – 6:35 p.m.  

Pitching: LHP Emerson McKnight (2-1, 2.33 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Martin Romero (2-0, 3.98 ERA) 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Drawstring Bag Giveaway Night (1st 300 Fans). 

Promotion: Triple play Tuesday Ticket Package:  game ticket, hot dog & soda for $13 (Advance sales only, not available day of the game.) If the Rox turn a Triple Play, one lucky fan wins $3k. Click here to purchase package. 

 

Wednesday, July 22 – 6:35 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Manning West (2-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. LHP Darius Jenkins (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Former Rox and Chicago Cubs First Baseman Michael Busch Bobblehead giveaway (first 500 fans) 

 

Follow the Game  

• Follow along to every Northwoods League game on the NWL scoreboard, and get up to the minute information with the Play-by-Play feature.  

• All matchups, home and away, can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription.  

• Every game of the 2026 season can be heard on 93.9FM and 1390AM Granite City Sports Radio, and on the Granite City Sports website. Dylan Budd, Danny Berg, and Riley Klaus call every game from the Eide Chrysler St. Cloud Studios. 

 

Recounting Watford City Weekend 

Instead of playing at Minot’s Corbett Field, the Rox and Hot Tots ventured further west to Watford City, N.D. for a special two-game weekend series played on the campus of Watford City High School 

Saturday’s contest saw the Rox come out hot, getting as high as a 9-1 lead over the Hot Tots after 4.5 frames. Minot started putting runs together after Brandon Pelechowicz’s start concluded, and took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, with eight runs driven in. The Rox couldn’t rally and were defeated 13-10. Austin Haley finished a triple short of the cycle, recording four hits and three RBIs with a stolen base. Tanner Recchio, Colton Rother, and Jaixen Frost all recorded with two-hit games, and Kaden Amundson drove in two runs in the game. As a silver lining, all nine members of the Rox starting nine finished with at least one hit in the game. 

On Sunday, the short dimensions did not play as expected, and the wind blew in off the plains to create a pitcher’s paradise. The Rox thrived in the environment, with the team throwing their sixth shutout of the season, and the first shutout since June 30, with St. Cloud winning 4-0. Tyler Phenow recorded his fourth quality start of the season, tossing six innings with four strikeouts. Evan Farrow (two innings) and Myles Hanson (one inning) finished the job for St. Cloud, with just one hit allowed between the two. Owen Estabrook had his first multi-hit game since June 29, and he, Colton Rother, Aidan Mouton, and Jaixen Frost each had an RBI in the game. 

 

St. Cloud vs. La Crosse 

• This is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2024 playoffs, where the Loggers defeated the Rox 8-1 at Joe Faber Field. Current Rox players Kaden Amundson and Jaixen Frost played in the game, with Frost going 2-for-4. 

• St. Cloud and La Crosse also met in the 2023 postseason, with the Rox walking off the game 9-8. Michael McNamara hit a sac fly to tie the game in the 9th and Ben Vujovich ripped an RBI single to win the game. 

• This is the first regular season meeting since 2023, where the teams met eight times and the Rox won six of them, including all four at home. 

• Since 2020, the Rox are 20-4 against La Crosse in the regular season. 

• The teams will meet again in Wisconsin next week on July 30 and 31. 

 

Jivin’ With the Jayhawks 

Fellow Kansas Jayhawks Emerson McKnight and Manning West are expected to start each game against the Loggers. The two have been on an absolute tear, with both earning league Pitcher of the Night honors. 

McKnight began the second half by chucking a complete game shutout, allowing three baserunners and fanning ten. In the second half, he has registered 19.1 innings, allowing just five runs, 10 hits, and striking out an incredible 27 batters. 

West has two starts in the second half, with 12 innings under his belt. His walk-to-strikeout ratio is also admirable, with 24 punchouts and eight passes within four earned runs. 

 

Strong Spot Starts 

During the road trip, the Rox saw three different arms make spot starts; Austin Haley, Jacob Imoto, and Brandon Pelechowicz.  

Haley started the first Badlands battle, hucking two scoreless, hitless innings, while also striking out a bat. Behind him, Dylan Westbrook threw four innings, with five hits and two earned runs allowed.  

Jacob Imoto registered his first start since June 6 against the Big Sticks, tossing a 5.1 inning gem. He allowed three runs on six hits, but struck out four and didn’t allow a walk, a feat Imoto had achieved just twice before. 

 

La Crosse Needs Logging 

The Loggers head into the Rox pair with just two games played in the last week, and only six games played since the All-Star break with a 4-2 record. La Crosse was smitten with bad luck after being scheduled to play the Thunder Bay Border Cats in Ontario on July 14 & 15 and July 18 & 19, but due to the Canadian and Minnesotan wildfires affecting the area, all the games were rescheduled. 

The July 14/15 games were initially rescheduled to be played as straight seven-inning doubleheaders on July 18/19, however the conditions did not improve and led to those doubleheaders being rescheduled. All of the games have been rescheduled to be played at La Crosse’s Copeland Park as straight doubleheaders, with the teams alternating between home and visitors. 

After the Loggers leave St. Cloud, they will travel to Rochester for a split doubleheader on July 23 before the straight doubleheaders back home against Thunder Bay on July 24 and 25. 

 

Esta-Back 

Within the last five games exclusively, Owen Estabrook holds the team’s highest batting average, at a .400 rate. On Sunday, Estabrook reached on all his plate appearances, going 2-2 with two walks and a run batted in. In the last ten games, Tanner Recchio holds the highest clip, batting an impressive .419. 

 

Rox against the Northwoods League 

With 19 games left in the regular season, the Rox are consistently placing themselves near the top of many of the NWL’s statistical leaderboards. 

Offense 

• 1st in stolen bases (221) 

• 1st in on base percentage (.421) 

• 2nd in total plate appearances (2208) 

• Averaging 43.3 plate appearances per game 

• 2nd in walks (369) 

• 2nd in hit by pitches (98) 

• 2nd in sacrifice flies (34) 

• 3rd in runs scored (386) 

• 3rd in hits (451) 

• 4th in batting average (.268) 

• 4th in sacrifice hits (17) 

Pitching & Fielding 

• 1st in fielding percentage (.969) 

• 1st in doubles allowed (52) 

• 2nd in home runs allowed (20) 

• 2nd in opponent batting average (.238) 

• 3rd in strikeouts (495) 

• 3rd in runs allowed (256) 

• 4th in lowest amount of errors (58) 

• 4th in hits allowed (383) 

• 4th in team WHIP (1.47) 

• 5th in earned runs allowed (226) 

• 5th in team ERA (4.53) 

 

Rox Nearing Team Record 

Known for running their opponents into the ground by using their speed, the Rox are in pursuit of positioning themselves as one of the fastest teams ever in the Northwoods League. 

The Rox enter Tuesday with 221 stolen bases, entering the top 10 all-time team stolen base mark. The 2024 Willmar Stingers hold the top spot at 251 steals back in 2024, one-upping their previous record of 247 in 2023. 

St. Cloud is on pace to shatter the Stingers’ record, currently projected to finish with over 300 stolen bases by season’s end. 

 

Jordan Barth Earns Jersey Retirement 

For the first time in Rox history, a jersey number will be retired. Jordan Barth’s #1 jersey was officially retired on July 13 in front of many gathered family and friends before the Rox took on the Minnesota Mud Puppies. In 176 games, Barth hit .307 with 11 home runs and 118 runs batted in. Barth was the team MVP in 2019 and played from 2019 to 2021. Presently in the record books, Barth holds the single season record for the most hits (99), doubles (25), total bases (132), extra-base hits (32), and games played (73).  

Currently, Barth is playing with the Texas Tailgaters in the Banana Ball Champions League. Through 39 games leading up to July 11, he is slashing .391/.451/.587 in 138 at-bats, scoring 28 times and hitting six home runs. Barth is the third baseman for the Tailgaters, and has the third most Trick Play Outs (outs recorded using extraordinary and unique defensive plays) on the squad.  

 

Rox to the Pros 

The 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on July 11 and 12 for eligible high school and college prospects to enter the professional ranks. A total of seven former Rox players were drafted by one of the 30 MLB teams. 

• Tyson LeBlanc (Kansas): Round 2, Pick 61 to the Detroit Tigers 

• Kade Lewis (Wake Forest): Round 4, Pick 132 to the Cleveland Guardians 

• Brady Ballinger (Kansas): Round 7, Pick 216 to the Detroit Tigers 

• Marcus Kruzan (Minnesota): Round 12, Pick 371 to the Milwaukee Brewers 

• Dallis Moran (Stetson): Round 16, Pick 474 to the St. Louis Cardinals 

• Weber Neels (Minnesota): Round 19, Pick 566 to the Arizona Diamondbacks 

• J.P. Robertson (Mississippi): Round 20, Pick 598 to the San Francisco Giants 

Additionally, the Rox had two pitchers on their 2026 roster earn undrafted free agent contracts in the last week. 

Righty Brady Stuart earned a contract with the Los Angeles Angels on July 16. Stuart pitched in three games for the Rox, with his best outing being his final one, going 2.2 innings against Mankato on July 15 and striking out three. Stuart is the reigning consensus Division 3 National Pitcher of the Year amongst multiple outlets, pitching to a 1.85 ERA in 18 outings with Endicott (MA). 

Rox closer Brandon Jaenke earned a contract with the Texas Rangers on July 17. Jaenke appeared in 11 games for St. Cloud this season, not allowing a single run and giving up just seven hits while striking out 22, and recorded five saves in the process. In his Rox career, which began in 2022, he pitched in 72 games as a member of the Rox. That includes two trips to the postseason and three appearances in the All-Star Game. He sports a record of 6-2 with 24 saves in 98 innings, pitching to a 3.58 ERA. Nearly half of the outs Jaenke recorded with the Rox were strikeouts, and finished with a 13.68 K/9. 

Learn more about the draftees here. 

 

Postseason Bound 

On June 24, the Rox officially clinched the Great Plains West first half championship following an 8-3 victory over the Badlands Big Sticks. The win moved St. Cloud to 21-10 at the time and was the first team in the Northwoods League to secure a playoff spot. The La Crosse Loggers (Plains East), Madison Mallards (Lakes East), and Kenosha Kingfish (Lakes West) secured the other first half titles. 

After cruising to a divisional championship, the Rox secured the top spot in the Great Plains on the final day of the first half. St. Cloud entered June 29 down 10 winning percentage points to La Crosse, and after a Rox 9-4 win over Bismarck and a 17-5 Loggers loss to Eau Claire, the Rox earned the top slot. 

2026 will mark the eighth straight summer that the Rox will be playing beyond the regular season. St. Cloud has gone 9-8 in playoff games since 2021. 

 

Recchio’s Records 

Utility man Tanner Recchio is known for his speed, and his speed has killed opponents in their game planning. He looks to continue to make his mark on the Rox record books. 

After setting the new Rox single-season stolen base record at 34 last season, Recchio surpassed that number on July 3 by taking his 35th base of the season. He needed 44 games to steal 34 bases in 2025 and needed just 35 games this year to take 35 bases. 

On a grander scale, Recchio sits at 58 stolen bases going into Tuesday’s game, putting him just 10 steals away from breaking Larry Edwards’ single-season Northwoods League record of 67. 

Additionally, one of the fastest men the Northwoods League has seen in its history, Recchio has officially rewritten the league record book. 

He broke the NWL stolen base mark on June 21, swiping his 91st career bag against the Minot Hot Tots. Recchio stole 34 bases apiece in 2023 with the Minnesota Mud Puppies and in 2025 with St. Cloud. 

The record was held for 18 years by Joey Bonadonna, who stole 90 bases for the Duluth Huskies and the Madison Mallards from 2005-2008. Bonadonna played three seasons in Minor League Baseball, getting 600 at-bats and took 42 bases. Larry Edwards also holds 90 in his league career, the fastest to do so, getting the accolade in 116 games. Recchio eclipsed the mark in 111 games. 

Recchio has become the third St. Cloud player to be in the Northwoods League record book. Chris DeMara recorded four shutouts in 2001, and Britt Carmicheal pitched 80 games from 1997 to 1999. 

 

About Faber Field  

Joe Faber Field is located on the westside of St. Cloud in the city’s Municipal Athletic Complex.  The complex features two of the finest baseball fields in the state – Dick Putz Field and Joe Faber Field. Additionally, the complex features Veterans Public Golf Course and two ice arenas, Torrey Arena and Ritsche Arena. The park opened in 1998 and has a capacity of 2,000 people.   

  

Attend a Rox Game 

Fans can visit stcloudrox.com and hover over the drop-down “Tickets” menu on the homepage. Fans can also call 320-240-9798 for ticket information or can visit the ticket office inside the Municipal Athletic Complex’s ice arena lobby during regular business hours. 

 

Up Next  

The Rox will welcome the Thunder Bay Border Cats for a doubleheader on July 23.  

Following the doubleheader, the Rox will meet the Willmar Stingers for the final time this season, beginning a home-and-home series on July 24 that starts at Joe Faber Field. 

All games in the homestand begin at 6:35 p.m., with the exception of the first game of the July 23 doubleheader. That game will start at 12:05 p.m.