ST. CLOUD ROX vs. BADLANDS BIG STICKS<\/b><\/p>\n
July 16 & 17<\/span><\/p>\n Dakota Community Bank & Trust Field (Dickinson, North Dakota)<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thursday, July 16 \u2013 7:35 p.m. CT \/ 6:35 p.m. MT<\/b><\/p>\n Pitching: <\/b>RHP <\/span>Austin Haley<\/span><\/a> (0-0, 0.00 ERA)\u00a0 vs. TBA<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Watch: <\/b>FloSports<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Listen: <\/b>93.9FM\/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Friday, July 17 \u2013 7:35 p.m. CT \/ 6:35 p.m. MT<\/b><\/p>\n Pitching: <\/b>LHP <\/span>Jacob Imoto<\/span><\/a> (0-0, 6.35 ERA) vs. TBA<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Watch: <\/b>FloSports<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Listen: <\/b>93.9FM\/1390 AM Granite City Sports Radio<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Follow the Game<\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n St. Cloud vs. Badlands (SERIES HISTORY)<\/b><\/p>\n Recounting Mankato & Minnesota<\/b><\/p>\n The Rox just wrapped up a two-game, home-and-home set against the Mankato Moondogs. Before the pair, St. Cloud defeated the Minnesota Mud Puppies <\/span>13-8<\/span><\/a>. Tyler Phenow collected his third win, fanning six in as many innings. <\/span>Tanner Recchio<\/span><\/a> proved to be a catalyst once more, reaching on every plate appearance, scoring twice and swiping thrice.<\/span><\/p>\n Tuesday<\/span><\/a> was a slog of a contest that took three hours and 48 minutes to complete in hot and muggy conditions, with St. Cloud picking up a 10-6 win. The Rox scored three runs in the first three innings, and Mankato countered with three of their own leading to a 3-3 tie after 3 frames. The MoonDogs got a run in the fifth and seventh, giving them a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Jaixen Frost picked up a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and Austin Haley tied the game with an RBI single in his first at-bat of the game. Mankato retook the lead in the 8th inning but the Rox countered with five in the bottom of the frame, spotlighted by Brett White giving St. Cloud the lead with a two-RBI triple and Jackson Legg added insurance with a two-RBI single. Legg finished the day with four RBIs, while he, White, and Colton Rother all had multi-hit games.<\/span><\/p>\n Wednesday<\/span><\/a> was a complete opposite showing from Tuesday, with the MoonDogs winning 2-0 in a game that took two hours and 16 minutes to finish. Emerson McKnight was tabbed with the start and delivered 5.1 quality innings, finishing with nine strikeouts with just one walk and four hits. Brady Stuart followed him up in relief, going 2.2 scoreless frames with no hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Haley Tabbed For Start<\/b><\/p>\n No stranger to the pitcher role during the spring, shortstop Austin Haley will showcase his two-way talents in his third pitching appearance in the Northwoods League. This time he will be a starter for the Rox when he pitches Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n Haley made two starts for the Kansas State Wildcats this spring, both against Summit League opponents. He delivered five scoreless innings against South Dakota State in early March, allowing just two hits and striking out five on 62 pitches. In mid-April against Omaha, he went five innings and allowed three runs (two earned), giving up five hits with one strikeout on 73 pitches.<\/span><\/p>\n At Murray State College in 2025, Haley made 12 starts, pitching to a 4.50 ERA in 58 innings. He struck out 76 batters to just 24 walks, and held opponents to a .245 batting average.<\/span><\/p>\n Haley has pitched 2.1 scoreless innings across his time with the Rox spanning two seasons, allowing two hits and striking out five. His only appearance on the mound this year so far was on July 5 at Mankato, where he earned the save going 1.1 innings and striking out three.<\/span><\/p>\n Welcome Back Imoto<\/b><\/p>\n A previous starter for the Rox, lefty Jacob Imoto will make his first starting assignment since June 6 for St. Cloud on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n Imoto has been a mid-to-high leverage reliever for the Rox in his last eight appearances, oftentimes being the only available left-handed reliever. Since moving to the bullpen, Imoto has delivered scoreless appearances in five of his eight outings. His best game came on June 25 against the MoonDogs, where he went two scoreless innings and struck out four.<\/span><\/p>\n Imoto\u2019s last outing came on July 13, pitching an inning against the Mud Puppies and allowed two runs but struck out three. On the year, he has 11 outings with a 6.35 ERA in 17 innings, allowing just six hits and striking out 17.<\/span><\/p>\n OPS Ablaze<\/b><\/p>\n There are four Rox with an OPS rate over one when facing the Badlands Big Sticks:<\/span><\/p>\n Rox against the Northwoods League<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Entering Thursday\u2019s games, the Rox stand alone at the top of the league with the most overall wins of any team at 31. The Wausau Woodchucks joined the 30-win club on July 15 with their 12-7 win over the Madison Mallards. Traverse City is the likely next team to 30 wins, entering the day at 29-18 overall. The Rox have the second best winning percentage (.660) in the league, trailing Wausau by 22 percentage points, albeit the Woodchucks playing three less games than the Rox.<\/span><\/p>\n Nearing 50 games <\/span>into the 2026 season, the Rox continue to pace the NWL in a bevy of offensive categories:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, the Rox are at or near the top in many of the league\u2019s pitching and defense categories as well.<\/span><\/p>\n Rox to the Pros<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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