Mankato, MN – St. Cloud left no doubt in a series-opening win over Mankato, following Riley Cornelio’s record-breaking performance on the mound to a 10-0 win.

The TCU product Cornelio threw seven shutout innings and broke the Rox’ single-game record for strikeouts in a game with 14 on the day. Cornelio didn’t allow a hit after the first inning and struck out at least two batters in his final five innings on the mound.

Bryce Hackett (Tarleton State) was the only other arm used on the day for the Rox as he threw two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth. Hackett retired six of the seven batters he faced to seal off the win.

The bats got rolling in the third inning as leadoff hitter, Peter Abinanti (San Diego), triple to left-center field and brought in the opening run. Abinanti would drive in two runs on the day and score in the third as well to make it 2-0.

Nate Swarts (Washington State) had a huge day at the bottom of the order with four hits in the series-opener. Swarts capped off a five-run fifth inning with a two-RBI single to right field and made the score 7-0 Rox.

In the seventh, Otto Kemp (Point Loma Nazarene) put the final exclamation point on the win with a two-run home run that made it 10-0 St. Cloud. That was Kemp’s team-leading seventh home run of the summer.

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

The Rox will now have a chance to sweep Mankato at home on Monday and earn a spot in the Great Plains Championship game later on in the week. The 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.