By: Riley Klaus

July 17, 2026

DICKINSON, ND – The St. Cloud Rox (32-17) defeated the Badlands Big Sticks (24-24) 9-4 on Friday and will continue the road trip in North Dakota by facing the Minot Hot Tots for a two-game series beginning Saturday.

The Rox scored a crooked number in the top of the second by stacking together quality at-bats to take a 3-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Aidan Mouton (University of Kansas) walked to bring in the first run. Tanner Recchio (University of Minnesota) and Austin Haley (Arkansas State University) followed with consecutive RBI singles to give the Rox a 3-0 lead.

Jacob Imoto (Brigham Young University) made his first start on the mound since June and made his longest outing of the season. Imoto tossed 5.1 innings and struck out four Big Sticks batters in the process.

The offense picked back up in the sixth inning, starting a streak of three straight innings the Rox scored in. Brett Griffiths (Ball State University) drove in a run in the sixth, and a double-steal in the top of the seventh turned into Tanner Recchio (University of Minnesota) reaching home after a wild throw from the Big Sticks catcher.

With a 5-4 advantage in the eighth inning, St. Cloud’s bats put up four runs to extend the lead. Jackson Legg (Georgia Gwinnett) led off the inning with a double and would be brought home by Griffiths for the second time on the day. Alex Dupuy (University of Alabama Birmingham) claimed a double of his own to bring in two runs and eventually made it home on a groundout to extend the lead to five at 9-4.

St. Cloud held on to the 9-4 lead to secure their Northwoods League-best 32nd victory of the season.

The All-Star Trophy and Awards Star of the Game is Jacob Imoto.

The Rox begin a new two-game road series in North Dakota against the Minot Hot Tots on Saturday, July 18, at 6:35 PM. The next Rox home game is next Tuesday, July 21, at 6:35 PM against the La Crosse Loggers, presented by Magnifi Financial. There will be a Drawstring Bag Giveaway for the first 300 fans at Joe Faber Field.

The 2026 season is presented by Eide Chrysler St. Cloud.