St. Cloud, MN – St. Cloud (18-3) worked through a gritty game against Eau Claire (13-9) to win its seventh straight game, 5-3, on Wednesday night

The Rox have extended their lead to six-and-a-half games in the Great Plains West over the Willmar Stingers. St. Cloud moves closer and closer to a first-half championship and clinching a playoff spot.

The Rox scored four of their five runs in the bottom of the second inning behind five walks and a few wild pitches as St. Cloud showed off its plate discipline. Will Worthington (San Diego) also knocked in his third run in two days with a safety squeeze bunt down the third-base line.

St. Cloud scored an insurance run in the seventh inning on an Ethan Mann (New Mexico State) RBI single. John Nett (St. Cloud State) also had a great game at the plate with three hits in four at-bats.

The bullpen settled things down late in the game as Nick Hyde (Western Carolina) retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and the eighth hitter. Hyde struck out three batters in his third appearance of the season as well.

Jonathan Martinez came in as the closer in the ninth in his first appearance with the Rox. After allowing a leadoff single, Martinez shut it down and struck out the final two batters he faced.

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

The Rox open up a crucial two-game series with Willmar on Thursday night from the Rock Pile to complete their four-game home stand. First pitch from Joe Faber Field is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

For the full 2022 Rox schedule, click here. The 2022 season is presented by Fleet Farm. For more information regarding this release, season tickets and partial season ticket packages for the 2022 season including Kwik Trip 7-Game Packs, please contact the Rox office at 320-240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com.

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’ 28^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 theApple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.