ST. CLOUD ROX vs. BISMARCK LARKS

May 29 & 30, 2026 

Joe Faber Field (St. Cloud, Minnesota) 

 

Friday, May 29 – 7:05 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Brock Toney (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Colton Bagshaw (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Home Opener with Post-Game Fireworks. Former Minnesota Twins Catcher & 1991 World Series Champion Brian Harper will toss out the ceremonial first-pitch and be available for pictures and autographs starting when the gates open at 6:05 PM. 

Promotion: Launch-A-Ball. (Baseball’s version of Chuck-a-Puck) Fans will have an opportunity to purchase balls to toss on the field after the game for a chance to win $200 in Scheels gift cards. Proceeds benefit Sauk Rapids Youth Baseball. 

 

Saturday, May 30 – 6:05 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Josiah Petersen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Trenton Mitchell (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Piggy Bank Giveaway & Quarter Drop. 1st 300 Kids Receive a Piggy Bank and Have an Opportunity to Pick Up $1,000 in Quarters on the Field After the Game. 

Promotion: Salute to Service Saturday. First 75 active military members or veterans with valid ID or military discharge papers who purchase a ticket receive a special complimentary Rox hat. (Advance ticket purchase only, not day of game). Presented by The Vein Center 

 

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. 

 

St. Cloud vs. Bismarck 

• St. Cloud and Bismarck met on Monday and Tuesday this week at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, with the teams splitting the series. 

• All-time, the two have met a total of 83 times, with the Rox winning 62 of those contests. 

• Last season, St. Cloud won 10 of the 12 meetings against Bismarck, including winning the final five meetings of the year, and five of the six games at Joe Faber Field. 

 

Recounting North Dakota 

The Rox paid visits to Bismarck and Dickinson, going 1-1 on the road trip to begin the 2026 Northwoods League season. 

St. Cloud defeated the Larks on Monday by a score of 6-5. Jackson Akin recorded a birthday double, Nolan Geislinger tacked on an RBI single, and Owen Estabrook got the go-ahead hit in the seventh inning on a two-RBI double. Hunter Poe delivered 4.1 innings of strong pitching, and the trio of Ethan Felling, Lucas Harrington, and Adam Trevino finished the day. 

Tuesday saw a slugfest break out, with Bismarck earning a series split on an 18-8 victory. St. Cloud saw its first home run of the season courtesy of Akin, and five other Rox players contributed an RBI to the cause. Six of Tuesday’s nine starters recorded a hit in the game. Jacob Imoto’s first start with the Rox was scoreless, going two innings with no hits and three walks. 

Wednesday’s opener in Dickinson saw the Rox trail the entire game until Geislinger recorded a go-ahead two-RBI single in the top of the ninth, leading to an 8-5 Rox win. Geislinger recorded four hits and four RBIs in total on the day. Ethan Palumbo pitched the longest outing of the season for the Rox to that point, going 5.1 innings and allowing five runs (four earned). Felling, Harrington, and Trevino combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, and Harrington struck out four of the six batters he faced. 

Thursday’s game saw the Rox complete the sweep over the Big Sticks, winning 6-3. Tyler Holland went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored, including taking home on a wild pitch. Eli Campbell walked twice and delivered several highlight-reel plays in his first start at catcher, including gunning down two Big Sticks runners at second base. Four Rox pitchers combined for seven scoreless innings after Jacob Galloway’s first start, spotlighted by 2.2 strong innings from K.J. Hart. 

 

Home Opening History 

The St. Cloud Rox celebrate their 15th home opener Friday, facing off against the Bismarck Larks. Since 2012, the Rox are 9-5 for their first home game of the season. 

The Rox have hosted Bismarck once previously for the St. Cloud home opener, in 2019, with the Larks winning the contest 9-6. That year the Rox went 44-20 but went 0-2 in the playoffs. 

Last season, the Rox defeated the Badlands Big Sticks in their home opener 4-3. Hunter Day delivered seven innings of three-run baseball, and Tanner Recchio scored late in the game on an Austin Haley sac fly to give the Rox the lead. St. Cloud lost their home opener in 2024 to the Duluth Huskies 10-6 but had won four straight home openers prior to that. 

 

Toney Toes The Rubber 

Brock Toney will make his first appearance in a St. Cloud Rox uniform Friday night when he is given the starting assignment against the Larks. Toney comes from Grand Canyon University, making 12 appearances this spring. He recorded a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 innings of work, but did not make a single start. 

Toney missed the 2025 season due to injury and before coming to Grand Canyon in 2024, he was with Central Missouri. 

 

Petersen Makes Rox Debut

Josiah Petersen will get his first crack on the rubber for the Rox on Saturday evening when he starts against the Larks. Petersen comes from Augustana University in Minnesota, alongside fellow teammates Carter Heinsch and Cal Schmelzle. Petersen made 16 appearances with three starts this spring for the Vikings, pitching to a 4.79 ERA in 35.2 innings. All three of Petersen’s starts went for five or more frames, with his season high being 6.1 in a loss to Minnesota State in mid-April.

Petersen made just three appearances in 2025 for Augustana, all out of the bullpen. Only one of those outings was scoreless.

 

Rox Bats Sweltering to Begin 2026 Season 

Akin to the hot temperatures in Minnesota, the bats of the St. Cloud Rox have been steaming in the opening week. 

Jackson Akin is 7-for-16 (.438) in the first four games, with five extra-base hits and five runs driven in. Akin is taking deep counts as well, drawing four walks thus far and has just three strikeouts. 

Nolan Geislinger is 6-for-14 (.429) to begin play. He has six RBIs and a triple in the first week, and is getting on base in bunches with five walks and a hit by pitch with just two strikeouts. 

Tyler Holland is 5-for-12 (.417) batting all over the lineup to start the year. Holland has two runs scored and two doubles with a walk and an RBI. 

Owen Estabrook is 5-for-13 (.385) to begin the year in three games played, with a big double on Opening Day to highlight. Estabrook has walked twice and driven in four runs.  

 

New Men at the Helm 

Pitching coach Chris Garcia has assumed the role of interim field manager to begin the 2026 season. Permanent field manager Nick Studdard and assistant Beau Kirsch have been coaching an LSU-Eunice team that is competing in the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, CO, and both will return to their posts in St. Cloud on Sunday. Garcia comes with experience from American River College, working as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Last year, Garcia helped the Beavers earn their first playoff berth in 20 years. 

In comparison, Bismarck has a first-year field manager in Chris Monroe on the top step. Monroe is currently the hitting coach for the Missouri Western State Griffons. During his playing career, Monroe was awarded a Great Lakes All-Star nod with the Traverse City Pit Spitters en route to a Northwoods League Championship in 2021. 

 

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.  

 

Up Next 

The Rox will begin a four-game home-and-home series with the Willmar Stingers beginning on Sunday. Sunday and Wednesday’s games will be played at Joe Faber Field; Monday and Tuesday’s games will be played at Willmar’s Baker Diamond. All games are scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m., except for Sunday, which will begin at 4:05 p.m.