St. Cloud, MN — The Rox (20-11) have racked up the miles on the road for the last couple weeks. With 13 of their last 17 on the road, they finally got a nice, warm welcome back at Faber Field. In front of a sellout crowd of 2,441 Thursday night the Rox didn't disappoint cruising to a 11-4 win. They are now tied with the Bucks for the lead in the North Division with just 5 games left in the 1st half of the regular season.

St. Cloud started off another game off strong, getting back-to-back strikeouts from starter Aaron Rozek (Minnesota State-Mankato), and then 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Keaton Kringlen (BYU) singled to bring in Mason Mamarella (Kent State) and Matt Tarantino (Pacific), and St. Cloud never looked back.

Thank Rozek (4-0) who earned another win with 6 dominant innings on the mound. He struck out 6 in his 5th start, and now leads the Northwoods league in that category. He kept the Border Cats bats at bay for most of his time on the mound allowing just 5 hits and 2 walks. 

The Rox hitters came up big in the 6th following their starter's exit. In an inning where the entire order hit, they hung 6 runs after some patient and timely hitting. They ended up having 5 hits and 3 walks in the inning, with all 3 driving in runs with the bases loaded. 

Another run scored in the 7th, and later Tarantino crushed his 5th home run of the season and 1st at Faber Field to put the cherry on top. Tarantino was one of 4 Rox players to tally multiple hits tonight. Mamarella, on 23rd birthday, Shane Selman (McNeese State) and Kringlen helped in the win.

Daniel Schneemann (BYU) like Tarantino and Kringlen drove in multiple runs as well. 

The Rox are back for two more home games Friday and Saturday against Thunder Bay and Duluth. They look to extend their win streak tomorrow night at 7:05 PM with Friday Night Fireworks presented by Franklin Graphics and Franklin Outdoor Advertising. For tickets, you can visit out office at the MAC starting at 9 AM, or you can go online at stcloudrox.com.

Tonight's Box Score.

Northwoods League Standings.

Thursday's St. Cloud Times Player of the Night goes to Aaron Rozek, who improved his record to 4-0 and now leads the NWL with 39 strikeouts.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two- time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.