St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (35-12) picked up right where it left off before the all-star break, beating Waterloo (28-20) on Thursday night, 4-2.

That win locks up a winning record for the Rox for the ninth straight season. St. Cloud still stands at the top of the Northwoods League standings, two-and-a-half games ahead of Mankato. For the full Northwoods League standings, click here.

The Rox’ offense was ignited by Andrew Pinckney (Alabama) who led off the day at the plate with a home run to left-center field. Pinckney went 2-for-3 on Thursday, scored two runs and brought in two runs to get the Rox’ offense going.

Brice Matthews (Nebraska) also had a nice start to his night with a run scored in the first after reaching on a dropped third strike. He then brought in Pinckney with an RBI single to center in the second.

Riley Cornelio (TCU) opened the day on the mound with five-and-a-third innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits. Cornelio struck out six Bucks in his longest outing of the year to this point to earn the win.

In the end, Max Rippl (Kent State) finished it off for his first save of the season. Rippl escaped from two bases-loaded jams and struck out five batters to close out the victory for St. Cloud on Thursday.

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

St. Cloud will continue its four-game homestand on Friday evening with the series finale against Waterloo. First pitch from Joe Faber Field 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.