First-Place Rox Begin Crucial Weekend with Victory over MoonDogs

July 24, 2021 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
St. Cloud Rox News Release

Justin Kirby of the St. Cloud Rox
(St. Cloud Rox)

St. Cloud, MN - The two best teams in the Northwoods League faced off Saturday night with St. Cloud (37-12) pulling away for a 6-2 win over Mankato (34-16).

With the win, the Rox extended their lead as the best team in the Northwoods League to three-and-a-half games over Mankato. For the full Northwoods League Standings, click here.

Justin Kirby (Kent State) led the way offensively after struggling for the last two weeks. Kirby had just one hit in his previous twelve games, but erupted for three hits today to jumpstart the offense from the bottom of the order.

At the top of the lineup, Brice Matthews (Nebraska) cleaned up with two hits and two RBI's. After joining the Rox at the beginning of the second half of the season, Matthews has already worked his way to double-digit RBI's with ten.

For the second night in a row, the bullpen stepped up in a huge way. Zach Gagnon (Tarleton State) took over after Trent Schoeberl (Minnesota) could only go four innings on the mound. Gagnon threw three scoreless frames to get the game into the late innings.

Josh Gainer (Long Island-Brooklyn) finished it off with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Gainer has not allowed a single earned run this season in just under 17 innings pitched, while striking out 27 opposing batters.

St. Cloud will go for the sweep over Mankato and try to split the season series with the MoonDogs on Sunday afternoon in the series finale. First pitch from Joe Faber Field is scheduled for 4:05 pm.

Images from this story

Justin Kirby of the St. Cloud Rox

Northwoods League Stories from July 24, 2021

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Honkers Use Late Burst to Drop Mudpuppies - Rochester Honkers
First-Place Rox Begin Crucial Weekend with Victory over MoonDogs - St. Cloud Rox
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