ST. CLOUD ROX vs. WILLMAR STINGERS

May 31 – June 3 

Joe Faber Field (St. Cloud, Minnesota) | Baker Diamond (Willmar, Minnesota) 

 

Sunday, May 31 – 4:05 p.m. | Joe Faber Field 

Pitching: LHP Jacob Imoto (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Coborn’s Kids Day. Kids Have the Opportunity to Run Around the Bases After the Game and Get Autographs on the Field. 

 

Monday, June 1 – 6:35 p.m. | Baker Diamond 

Pitching: RHP Hunter Poe (0-0, 8.31 ERA) vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

 

Tuesday, June 1 – 6:35 p.m. | Baker Diamond 

Pitching: TBA vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

 

Wednesday, June 2 – 6:35 p.m. | Joe Faber Field 

Pitching: TBA vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Mental Health Awareness Night. Special Player Jersey Auction to Support Mental Health Awareness, presented by Newport Healthcare. 

 

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. Willmar 

• Sunday will mark the 135th regular season meeting between the two squads, with Willmar leading the all-time series 68-67.  

• The teams have met in the playoffs in five different years, with the Rox winning four of the five series. They met in 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Willmar and St. Cloud have met a total of nine times in postseason action. 

• Last season, the Rox won seven of the 12 meetings against the Stingers, including four of the last five games. St. Cloud went 5-1 at the Rockpile against Willmar, compared to 2-4 on the road. 

• St. Cloud has recorded three winning seasons against Willmar in the last five years, not including playoffs. 

 

Recounting Bismarck 

The Rox opened up Joe Faber Field in 2026 with a series sweep over the Larks, moving to 5-1 on the season against Bismarck. The two teams will meet again on June 17 to begin a four-game series in North Dakota. 

 

Friday saw the Rox exact revenge over the Larks. After an 18-8 Bismarck win on May 26, the Rox brought their bats to the home opener by scoring 13 runs against five Lark pitchers. Bismarck allowed eight walks and three hit by pitches, along with nine hits. In their first games with St. Cloud, Augustana (MN) teammates Cal Schmelzle and Carter Heinsch impressed in front of the home crowd. Heinsch recorded a hit and an RBI with two walks; Schmelzle posted two hits, including a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning. The Rox pitching staff combined for 6.2 innings of no-hit shutout baseball, highlighted with four hitless innings from starter Brock Toney and two hitless innings from Isaiah Salas. In total, the Rox pitchers allowed just two runs and two hits to Bismarck bats. 

 

Saturday featured a similar story, where the Rox bats took some time to get the bats humming. The Larks struck early with three runs but then Nolan Geislinger got a bloop single and Schmelzle ripped his second bases-loaded double in as many days in the fifth. Tanner Recchio laced a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning and Jackson Akin got a sacrifice hit to get the Rox all the runs they needed. Eli Lamb delivered four scoreless innings in relief with just one hit and four strikeouts in his first appearance with St. Cloud, and Caleb Matthews got the Rox out of a ninth-inning jam to finish the job. 

 

Imoto Prepares for Second Start 

Left-hander Jacob Imoto will toe the rubber for the second time this season, and for the first time at Joe Faber Field this year. Imoto faced off against the Bismarck Larks on May 26 in North Dakota, and threw two innings of hitless scoreless work. He walked three men and struck out one in his appearance, facing nine hitters. 

Imoto hails from the University of Arkansas, but did not pitch in the 2026 season. Imoto transferred to Arkansas from Palomar Junior College, where he posted a 4-2 record with a 2.45 ERA, 52 strikeouts through 44 innings and help opposing batters to a .199 batting average on the year. 

 

Poe Returns to Mound

Opening Day starter Hunter Poe will make his second start for the St. Cloud Rox one week after his first assignment in Bismarck, N.D., this time handling the Willmar Stingers. Poe went 4.1 innings against the Larks last Monday, giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits and four strikeouts in a 6-5 Rox victory. Poe faced 21 batters in the game and walked only one.

Poe attends McMurry in Abilene, T.X., where he was the staff ace for the War Hawks. He made 13 appearances, all starts, this spring, pitching to the tune of a 3.48 ERA and one complete game. Poe struck out 77 batters compared to 16 free passes, and opponents hit .251 against him.

 

Bats on fire 

In every game this season, the Rox have scored six or more runs against their opposition. They are averaging 8.33 runs per game, a mark that’s third across the Northwoods League. As a team, their offense is batting .274, which ranks fourth in the league. 

 

Best In The West 

After Willmar’s victory over the Mankato Moondogs, St. Cloud tops the Great Plains West with a 5-1 overall record. They also share the best record across the league with the La Crosse Loggers after their defeat to Duluth. 

 

Bullpen Forms Circle of Trust 

Through six games, pitching coach Chris Garcia has begun to find go-to guys to lean on in high-leverage situations. 

Lucas Harrington has appeared in three contests so far and has slammed the door in all of his outings, highlighted by a four-strikeout performance on May 28 against the Badlands Big Sticks. Harrington has yet to allow a run in 3.1 innings of work. 

Ethan Felling has become a reliable lefty for Garcia, posting a 1.59 ERA through three appearances thus far. He has allowed four walks in 5.2 innings pitched, but has struck out 10 men. 

Adam Trevino is claiming his spot as a closer in the Rox bullpen. He has worked in save situations in all three of his relief outings this year, and has come through in all of those situations. Trevino has five strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work, and has only allowed one run. 

 

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 six-game series with the Minot Hot Tots beginning on Thursday. The two squads will play at Minot’s Corbett Field from Thursday, June 4, to Sunday, June 7. Then the series will be finished off with two games at Joe Faber Field on Monday, June 8 and Tuesday, June 9. All games in the series will begin at 6:35 p.m., except for Sunday’s contest, which will begin at 1:05 p.m.