ST. CLOUD ROX vs. MINOT HOT TOTS

July 18-19 

Glenn Wahus Memorial Field – American Legion Post 29 (Watford City, North Dakota) 

 

St. Cloud: 32-17 overall, 8-5 second half

Minot: 18-32 overall, 5-9 second half

 

Saturday, July 18 – 6:35 p.m.  

Pitching: RHP Brandon Pelechowicz (1-1, 7.85 ERA) vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

 

Sunday, July 19 – 6:35 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Tyler Phenow (3-2, 3.03 ERA) vs. TBA 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

 

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. Minot 

• Saturday will mark the 41st meeting between the Rox and the Hot Tots, one of the newest teams in the Northwoods League. 

• The Rox and Hot Tots played in a six-game series in early June, with St. Cloud winning three of four at Corbett Field, and a two-game series split at Joe Faber Field. 

• The two teams met again on June 20 and 21 in St. Cloud, with the Rox winning both games in strong fashion. 

• St. Cloud has won 34 of the 40 previous matchups, including posting 11-1 records each of the last two seasons. 

• The Rox have won 16 of the 20 games as the road team in the series history. 

 

Watford City Weekend 

The Minot Hot Tots are embarking on what could be a new tradition in western North Dakota and are bringing along the Rox for the ride. The teams will be playing in the first ever Watford City Weekend, with the games being played at Glenn Wahus Memorial Field, home to area American Legion squads, local youth teams, and more. The property also houses Watford City High School, and a satellite campus of the University of Mary, which is based in Bismarck, N.D. 

The Hot Tots bring all of the usual game-day atmospheric bits and pieces to Watford City for the weekend, including their mascot, mid-inning promotions, ballpark food and drink, among other activities. 

 

Recounting Badlands 

The Rox completed a two-game series in Dickinson against the Big Sticks that ended Friday, with the series getting split between the two teams.

The game on Thursday was eerily similar to the Rox 2-0 loss to the MoonDogs on July 15, with the Big Sticks taking the game 3-1. St. Cloud snapped their scoreless inning streak at 16 and had multiple chances throughout the game but were unable to find the big hit. Austin Haley earned the start and pitched two spotless innings on 36 pitches. Dylan Westbrook wound up giving four innings of long relief. Despite giving up runs, Westbrook protected the bullpen and kept many arms fresh, needing just Evan Farrow and Myles Hanson to come in after him. Farrow and Hanson both pitched a scoreless inning each in relief. Tanner Recchio finished with a two-hit game, including a double. Jackson Legg also got two hits and the lone RBI. On offense, Haley was able to get on three times, all via the walk. 

Friday saw the Rox snap the skid, and the bats woke up in dramatic fashion. St. Cloud dropped three runs in the first inning after Aidan Mouton forced in a run on an RBI walk, and then Tanner Recchio and Austin Haley both had RBI singles. Recchio and Jackson Legg both scored on errors in the sixth and seventh innings respectively, and then the Rox dropped four runs in the eighth inning highlighted by an Alex Dupuy two-run double to deep left-center, and that insurance propelled St. Cloud to a 9-4 victory. The highlight of the day was starter Jacob Imoto, who delivered one of his best starts in his collegiate career. Imoto pitched 5.1 innings and struck out four, and did not walk a single batter. Ethan Felling made his return to the bullpen in this game as well and shined in a high-leverage spot in the sixth, finishing with 2.2 scoreless frames on just one hit. 

 

Pelechowicz Makes First Summer Start 

In a period where the Rox are trying out new starting pitchers, righty Brandon Pelechowicz will get his bite at the apple when he gets the ball to begin Saturday night’s game. So far as a pitcher this season, he has made 13 appearances, mostly in late relief in games where the result has been essentially decided.  

Pelechowicz made nine starts at American River CC this spring, where he sported a 5.97 ERA and recorded five wins. He went five or more innings in seven of his nine starts. In his first three starts of the year, Pelechowicz struck out seven, seven and ten batters.  

 

Phenow Gets Second Fry

The first start Tyler Phenow made with the St. Cloud Rox was, at the time, the best start that the team had to that point. It came at the hands of the Minot Hot Tots, delivering seven scoreless innings and striking out six. Since then, Phenow has turned into a mainstay in the rotation and a consistent arm the Rox can count on.

Phenow’s last start came on July 13 against the Mud Puppies on a hot and steamy day, and tossed a quality start. He went six innings and allowed three runs, striking out six and allowing four hits. He has recorded six or more strikeouts in three of his six starts so far, and has promoted weak contact throughout his time.

As a whole, he sports a 1.22 WHIP in 38.2 innings of work, striking out 31 to just 14 walks.

 

Rox against the Northwoods League 

Nearing 50 games into the 2026 season, the Rox continue to pace the NWL in a bevy of offensive categories: 

• 1st in stolen bases (213) 

• 1st in hit batsmen (92) 

• 2nd in sacrifice hits (17) 

• 2nd in on-base percentage (.420) 

• 3rd in sacrifice flies (31) 

• 4th in runs scored (372) 

• 4th in hits (429) 

• 5th in batting average (.266) 

In addition, the Rox are beginning to see their name pop up more and more on the pitching and defense leaderboards for the league. 

• T-1st in fielding percentage (.969) 

• 1st in home runs allowed (17) 

• 1st in opponent batting average (.236) 

• 1st in doubles (49) 

• 2nd in strikeouts (480) 

• 3rd in runs allowed (243) 

• 4th in team ERA (4.50) 

• 4th in team WHIP (1.47) 

• 4th in hits allowed (365) 

• 5th in earned runs allowed (216) 

 

Rox Nearing Team Record 

Known for running their opponents into the ground by using their speed, the Rox are in pursuit of positioning themselves as one of the fastest teams ever in the Northwoods League. 

The Rox enter Saturday with [SB] stolen bases, inching their way closer to the top 10 all-time team stolen base mark. The 2024 Willmar Stingers hold the top spot at 251 steals back in 2024, one-upping their previous record of 247 in 2023. 

St. Cloud is on pace to shatter the Stingers’ record, currently projected to finish with over 300 stolen bases by season’s end. 

Should the Rox steal four more bases, they would supplant the 2024 Lakeshore Chinooks in 10th place on the list. The 2024 Chinooks finished with 211 steals. 

 

Fiery Bats vs. Hot Tots 

In eight games so far this season, there have been several Rox bats who have cooked the Hot Tots at the plate. 

• Owen Estabrook is 7-for-21, scoring twice and driving in three runs while walking three times. 

• Carter Jorissen is 5-for-16, getting two doubles and scoring four times. He has seven RBIs and five walks while recording three sac flies. 

• Brandon Pelechowicz is 6-for-12 with five runs scored and an RBI. 

• Colton Rother is 6-for-8, albeit in just two games, with three RBIs and a walk. 

• Dylan Westbrook is 7-for-19, scoring three times with two doubles. He also has eight RBIs and two walks against Minot. 

 

Jordan Barth Earns Jersey Retirement 

For the first time in Rox history, a jersey number will be retired. Jordan Barth’s #1 jersey was officially retired on July 13 in front of many gathered family and friends before the Rox took on the Minnesota Mud Puppies. In 176 games, Barth hit .307 with 11 home runs and 118 runs batted in. Barth was the team MVP in 2019 and played from 2019 to 2021. Presently in the record books, Barth holds the single season record for the most hits (99), doubles (25), total bases (132), extra-base hits (32), and games played (73).  

Currently, Barth is playing with the Texas Tailgaters in the Banana Ball Champions League. Through 39 games leading up to July 11, he is slashing .391/.451/.587 in 138 at-bats, scoring 28 times and hitting six home runs. Barth is the third baseman for the Tailgaters, and has the third most Trick Play Outs (outs recorded using extraordinary and unique defensive plays) on the squad.  

 

Rox to the Pros 

The 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on July 11 and 12 for eligible high school and college prospects to enter the professional ranks. A total of seven former Rox players were drafted by one of the 30 MLB teams. 

• Tyson LeBlanc (Kansas): Round 2, Pick 61 to the Detroit Tigers 

• Kade Lewis (Wake Forest): Round 4, Pick 132 to the Cleveland Guardians 

• Brady Ballinger (Kansas): Round 7, Pick 216 to the Detroit Tigers 

• Marcus Kruzan (Minnesota): Round 12, Pick 371 to the Milwaukee Brewers 

• Dallis Moran (Stetson): Round 16, Pick 474 to the St. Louis Cardinals 

• Weber Neels (Minnesota): Round 19, Pick 566 to the Arizona Diamondbacks 

• J.P. Robertson (Mississippi): Round 20, Pick 598 to the San Francisco Giants 

Additionally, the Rox had two pitchers on their 2026 roster earn undrafted free agent contracts in the last week. 

Righty Brady Stuart earned a contract with the Los Angeles Angels on July 16. Stuart pitched in three games for the Rox, with his best outing being his final one, going 2.2 innings against Mankato on July 15 and striking out three. Stuart is the reigning consensus Division 3 National Pitcher of the Year amongst multiple outlets, pitching to a 1.85 ERA in 18 outings with Endicott (MA). 

Rox closer Brandon Jaenke earned a contract with the Texas Rangers on July 17. Jaenke appeared in 11 games for St. Cloud this season, not allowing a single run and giving up just seven hits while striking out 22, and recorded five saves in the process. In his Rox career, which began in 2022, he pitched in 72 games as a member of the Rox. That includes two trips to the postseason and three appearances in the All-Star Game. He sports a record of 6-2 with 24 saves in 98 innings, pitching to a 3.58 ERA. Nearly half of the outs Jaenke recorded with the Rox were strikeouts, and finished with a 13.68 K/9. 

Learn more about the draftees here. 

 

Postseason Bound 

On June 24, the Rox officially clinched the Great Plains West first half championship following an 8-3 victory over the Badlands Big Sticks. The win moved St. Cloud to 21-10 at the time and was the first team in the Northwoods League to secure a playoff spot. The La Crosse Loggers (Plains East), Madison Mallards (Lakes East), and Kenosha Kingfish (Lakes West) secured the other first half titles. 

After cruising to a divisional championship, the Rox secured the top spot in the Great Plains on the final day of the first half. St. Cloud entered June 29 down 10 winning percentage points to La Crosse, and after a Rox 9-4 win over Bismarck and a 17-5 Loggers loss to Eau Claire, the Rox earned the top slot. 

2026 will mark the eighth straight summer that the Rox will be playing beyond the regular season. St. Cloud has gone 9-8 in playoff games since 2021. 

 

Recchio’s Records 

Utility man Tanner Recchio is known for his speed, and his speed has killed opponents in their game planning. He looks to continue to make his mark on the Rox record books. 

After setting the new Rox single-season stolen base record at 34 last season, Recchio surpassed that number on July 3 by taking his 35th base of the season. He needed 44 games to steal 34 bases in 2025 and needed just 35 games this year to take 35 bases. 

Additionally, one of the fastest men the Northwoods League has seen in its history, Recchio has officially rewritten the league record book. 

He broke the NWL stolen base mark on June 21, swiping his 91st career bag against the Minot Hot Tots. Recchio stole 34 bases apiece in 2023 with the Minnesota Mud Puppies and in 2025 with St. Cloud. 

The record was held for 18 years by Joey Bonadonna, who stole 90 bases for the Duluth Huskies and the Madison Mallards from 2005-2008. Bonadonna played three seasons in Minor League Baseball, getting 600 at-bats and took 42 bases. Larry Edwards also holds 90 in his league career, the fastest to do so, getting the accolade in 116 games. Recchio eclipsed the mark in 111 games. 

Recchio has become the third St. Cloud player to be in the Northwoods League record book. Chris DeMara recorded four shutouts in 2001, and Britt Carmicheal pitched 80 games from 1997 to 1999. 

 

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.   

  

Attend a Rox Game 

Fans can visit stcloudrox.com and hover over the drop-down “Tickets” menu on the homepage. Fans can also call 320-240-9798 for ticket information or can visit the ticket office inside the Municipal Athletic Complex’s ice arena lobby during regular business hours. 

 

Up Next  

The Rox get a much-needed off day on Monday before opening a five-game homestand in four days on Tuesday. The La Crosse Loggers come to town on July 21 and 22 and then welcome the Thunder Bay Border Cats for a doubleheader on July 23.  

Following the doubleheader, the Rox will meet the Willmar Stingers for the final time this season, beginning a home-and-home series on July 24 that begins on July 24. 

All games in the homestand begin at 6:35 p.m., with the exception of the first game of the July 23 doubleheader. That game will start at 12:05 p.m.