Eau Claire, WI – St. Cloud (25-8) finished the first half of the season on Monday with a 9-8 loss to Eau Claire (19-15) on the Fourth of July.

The Rox got off to a strong start early, scoring the first four runs of the game. Trevor Austin (Mercer) brought in two runs in the first two innings with a double in the first and then made it 4-0 with an RBI single in the second.

Brice Matthews (Nebraska) continued his hot week with his third home run of the series and fourth of the season in the first inning. Matthews brought in two with a long ball that just snuck inside the left-field foul pole.

The Rox would battle back in the fifth after falling behind the Express. St. Cloud got important hits from Josh Cowden (BYU) and O’Neill Burgos (Southern) to finish off a four-run inning.

Carson Keithley (Texas State) had a very strong day at the plate in just his second start in the batting lineup. Keithley had a perfect day at the dish with four hits in his four chances against Eau Claire.

St. Cloud got a strong outing out of the bullpen from Tyler Cornett (West Texas A&M) late in the game. Cornett recorded seven outs and struck out the side in the sixth to help the Rox keep the game tight.

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

St. Cloud returns home on Wednesday to start the second half against the Willmar Stingers. 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.