ST. CLOUD ROX vs. WILLMAR STINGERS

July 24-25  

Joe Faber Field (St. Cloud, Minnesota) | Bill Taunton Stadium (Willmar, Minnesota) 

 

St. Cloud: 34-21, 10-9 second half 

Willmar: 30-25, 14-5 second half 

 

Friday, July 24 – 7:05 p.m. | Joe Faber Field 

Pitching: RHP Brandon Pelechowicz (1-1, 7.71 ERA) vs. RHP David Hagen (2-1, 5.40 ERA) 

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Promotion: Pink in The Park with Friday Night Fireworks. 

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, July 25 – 7:05 p.m. | Bill Taunton Stadium 

Pitching: TBA 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. 

 

Recounting Thunder Bay 

The Rox and Border Cats played a split doubleheader on July 23, the only time that Thunder Bay will visit St. Cloud this season unless there is a postseason meeting. The Border Cats swept the doubleheader and took all four meetings with the Rox in 2026. 

The early game saw a season high 2055 fans come through the gates for their nine-inning vacation, and an early run came home when Tanner Recchio scored off of a Colton Rother RBI groundout. Thunder Bay managed to put up six runs in the middle innings, but the Rox mounted a comeback in the seventh that fell just a run short, when Jaixen Frost deposited a two-run single into left field to run the score to 6-5 Border Cats. Thunder Bay posted two more in the ninth inning to win the game 8-5. Frost finished with three hits and three RBIs and a double. Recchio was the other player to record multiple hits (2), scored once and walked twice. Hunter Poe delivered 5.1 innings of work out of the bullpen, striking out four and allowing just two earned runs. 

The late game watched the Rox get out to a 3-run lead through the first four innings, where Brett White scored twice and Jackson Legg mashed a RBI triple to the left field corner. The Rox were backed up with a five-inning scoreless gem from Jacob Imoto, giving up just three hits and struck out seven. Things went awry late in the game and the Border Cats took a 9-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth. A Jackson Akin home run and a Jaixen Frost RBI single got the Rox within two but the comeback fell short. White finished 4-for-5 on the day with three doubles; Frost and Brett Griffiths each came away with two RBIs. Tanner Recchio, Carter Jorissen, White, and Frost all had multi-hit games for St. Cloud. 

 

St. Cloud vs. Willmar 

• Friday will mark the 144th regular season meeting between the two squads, with St. Cloud leading the all-time series 73-72.   

• The Rox have won six of the 10 previous meetings this season and have won three of five at each team’s stadium. 

• 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. 

 

Pelechowicz Gets Second Start 

After being pressed into duty for a starting assignment in Watford City last weekend, righty Brandon Pelechowicz gave a solid outing and earned another chance to start for the Rox. 

Pelechowicz started on July 18 against the Minot Hot Tots, and fired five innings on four runs, allowed five hits and four strikeouts. The Rox lost the game but had the lead when he exited the game. 

On the season, Pelechowicz sports a 1-1 record in 23.1 innings of work with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. 

 

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. 

In the late game of the July 23 double-header against Thunder Bay, Recchio stole his 67th base of the 2026 season, officially tying him with Larry Edwards’ mark that he set last season. Recchio accomplished the feat in 51 games, while Edwards needed 69 to reach it last year. 

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. 

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 had 90 in his league career entering 2026, and was 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. 

 

Rox against the Northwoods League 

With 15 games left in the regular season, the Rox are consistently placing themselves near the top of many of the NWL’s statistical leaderboards. 

Offense 

• 1st in stolen bases (247) 

• 1st in on-base percentage (.421) 

• 1st in hit by pitches (108) 

• 1st in sacrifice flies (38) 

• 2nd in walks (393) 

• 2nd in sacrifice hits (19) 

• 2nd in hits (494) 

• 2nd in plate appearances (2393) 

• Averaging 43.5 per game 

• 3rd in runs scored (413) 

• 4th in batting average (.270) 

• 4th in team at-bats (1827) 

• Averaging 33.2 per game 

• 5th in triples (11) 

• 5th in runs batted in (350) 

 

Pitching 

• 2nd in strikeouts (535) 

• 2nd in doubles allowed (63) 

• 2nd in home runs allowed (22) 

• 4th in opponent batting average (.245) 

• 4th in team ERA (4.61) 

• 5th in runs allowed (288) 

• 5th in earned runs (250) 

• 5th in team WHIP (1.52) 

 

Rox Bats Sting the Bees 

Through 10 games against the Willmar Stingers, several St. Cloud hitters have been able to break the hive on Willmar. 

• Alex Dupuy is 7-for-23, scoring four runs with two doubles and walked eight times. He also has three RBIs as well. 

• Jackson Legg has gone 9-for-23 with seven runs, four doubles, and seven RBIs. He has also managed to walk seven times and been hit twice. 

• Carter Jorissen has gone 8-for-20, scoring six times, doubling twice and driving home three runs. He has also been hit four times and walked thrice. 

• Tanner Recchio has gone 6-for-21 with nine runs scores and six runs driven in. He has walked 11 times and stolen 11 bases as well. 

 

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 Friday with 247 stolen bases and sit tied for second place all-time in the record book amongst the Northwoods League. The 2024 Willmar Stingers hold the top spot at 251 steals back in 2024, one-upping their previous record of 247 in 2023. The Rox supplanted 2021 Fond du Lac in third place by reaching 236 steals on Wednesday. 

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

 

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 post-All Star break. 

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. 

 

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 will welcome the Mankato MoonDogs for a two-game series beginning on Sunday. Sunday’s game will start at 4:05 p.m. and Monday’s game begins at 6:35 p.m. 

Following that series, the Minnesota Mud Puppies come back to St. Cloud for a single game on July 28 at 6:35 p.m.