ST. CLOUD ROX VS. LA CROSSE LOGGERS

July 30 – July 31

Copeland Park (La Crosse, WI)

St. Cloud Rox – 37-23, 13-11 second half

La Crosse Loggers – 38-20, 16-8 second half

 

Thursday, July 30 – 6:35 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Evan Farrow (0-1, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Zidlicky (2-1, 5.09 ERA)

Watch: FloSports 

Listen: 93.9FM/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio 

Friday, July 31 – 6:35 p.m. 

Pitching: RHP Brandon Pelechowicz (2-1, 6.98) vs. RHP Tommy Bridges (0-0, 4.98 ERA) 

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. La Crosse

• This is the third meeting between the two teams since the 2024 playoffs, where the Loggers defeated the Rox 8-1 at Joe Faber Field. Current Rox players Kaden Amundson and Jaixen Frost played in the game, with Frost going 2-for-4. 

• St. Cloud and La Crosse also met in the 2023 postseason, with the Rox walking off the game 9-8. Michael McNamara hit a sac fly to tie the game in the 9th and Ben Vujovich ripped an RBI single to win the game. 

• This is the third regular season meeting since 2023, where the teams met eight times and the Rox won six of them, including all four at home. 

• Since 2020, the Rox are 21-5 against La Crosse in the regular season. 

Recounting Mankato and Minnesota

Sunday’s matchup was another firefight, with 28 combined runs between the two franchises, but the Moondogs pulled out the win in 10 innings, with a final score of 16-12. Among the offensive success, Colton Rother tied a Rox single-game record for hits, going 5-6 with four RBI, and Brett Griffiths had his first homer of the season. Cole Prasse showed out in relief, twirling three scoreless innings, his season-high in distance. Tanner Recchio was credited with the loss, allowing three runs in one out.

Monday worked out a bit nicer. In poetic fashion, this game also made it to extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth, Tanner Recchio advanced to third on a groundout, and two walks brought up Luke Haney in his Northwoods League debut. Haney forced a walk to bring home Recchio, the winning run. It was the first Rox walk off this season. Emerson McKnight was awarded with his second league Pitcher of the Night nod after allowing one unearned run in six innings with 10 strikeouts.

The Rox built their momentum on Tuesday against the Minnesota Mud Puppies, winning 5-3. Manning West was Manning West; he exceeded 100 pitches for 6.2 innings, nine strikeouts, and only two earned runs. The leadoff man, Aidan Mouton, sparked the offense, going 4-5 with two RBI, two stolen bases, and a double.

Flashback…

The Rox split their two games against the La Crosse Loggers between July 21 and July 22. Tuesday’s match saw a Loggers 13-8 victory, taking 12 innings to get the job done. Entering the ninth, the Rox were ahead 7-2, but La Crosse came back to force extra innings. The 11th inning saw each team earn a run, and another 5-spot in the top of the 12th proved to be the difference. St. Cloud used six arms, but Emerson McKnight dazzled in six innings, allowing just two runs with six strikeouts.

The next day, the Rox got their revenge, beating the Loggers 7-2. The Rox were propelled by a five-run bat around in the fifth. Leading the charge was Manning West, completing five innings and allowing just one run to six strikeouts in 107 pitches. Dylan Lewkutz was the only man out of the chute, coming in for the sixth and holding down the fort for the rest of the evening.

 

Rox against the Northwoods League 

The Rox sit amongst the top of the league in:

• Batting average (.276, 4th)
• Runs (457, 4th)
• Hits (553, 3rd)
• Triples (14, 3rd)
• RBI (388, 6th)
• Walks (428, 2nd)
• HBP (118, 1st)
• Stolen bases (260, 1st by 36)
• On-base percentage (.424, 1st)
• OPS (.792, 6th)
• ERA (4.89, 5th)
• Pitching wins (37, t-4th)
• Strikeouts (581, 2nd)
• First pitch strike rate (57.7%, 2nd)

Lions and Bengals, Oh My!

Owen Estabrook and Aidan Mouton both hold a hot bat, each with a rate over .400 in their last five games. Estabrook has knocks in 9 of his last 13 (.692), and after Tuesday’s 4-5 performance against the Mud Puppies, Aidan Mouton is hitting .474 in his last five games.

More #BeaversInTheWoods

The Rox have added new faces to the championship charge. We welcome the below to the Rockpile:

• Luke Haney: the corner infielder is committed to the University of the Pacific after two years at American River College. In his debut, he forced a walk-off walk to defeat Mankato.
• Levi Nyberg: a two-way player from Cordova High School, Nyberg just graduated and will head to the Beavers in the fall. Nyberg has already pitched an inning with the Rox.
• Luke Williams: after a redshirt season at Ohlone Community College, the right-hander will also accompany to American River College. Williams has since made his way to the mound of Joe Faber Field.

Keep it 100

In the past week, the Rox have seen both starters and relievers go the distance. Against the Loggers last week, Manning West earned the win with 5 innings of one-run ball within 107 pitches. The next day, in game one against Thunder Bay, Hunter Poe came out of the bullpen with 107 hucks, eating 5.1 innings with just two earned runs allowed. Two days later, Brandon Pelechowicz threw 105 times, tied his career-high with 6.1 innings of work, and got his second win in as many starts. The aforementioned West went farther than any Rox pitcher this year on Tuesday, throwing 110 pitches against the Mud Puppies.

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 

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 west side 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 head into August with eight games to close out the regular season, seven of them taking place at the Rockpile. First up, two against the Badlands Big Sticks, followed by a four game set against the Mankato Moondogs, before ending the year with a pair against the Minot Hot Tots.