Huge Victory Pushes Rox Back into First Place

July 1, 2021 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
St. Cloud Rox News Release

St. Cloud Rox pitcher Johnny Dow
(St. Cloud Rox)

St. Cloud, MN - In the most important game of the season to this point, St. Cloud (22-8) did not falter and came away with a crucial 5-1 victory over Mankato (21-9) on Thursday night.

The win means that the Rox control their destiny the rest of the way in the first half, just needing two wins over Duluth to seal up the first-half championship in the Great Plains West. St. Cloud has already beaten the Huskies four times in four tries this year.

The Rox were keyed by a dominant performance out of Johnny Dow on the mound. After an eight-inning performance against Bismarck, Dow followed that up with a complete game against the MoonDogs. In nine innings on the mound, Dow struck out four batters, allowing just one run on seven hits and no walks.

The Rox bats erupted in the sixth inning to give St. Cloud the lead for good. After having just two hits in the first five innings of the game, the Rox added five in the bottom of the sixth.

Chris Esposito (Nebraska-Omaha) put the Rox up 3-1 with a two-RBI double down the left-field line. On the next pitch, Jack Winkler (San Francisco) added two more with a single to right field and put St. Cloud ahead 5-1.

The Rox started the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Justin Kirby (Kent State). St. Cloud took the lead in the first frame and never trailed during the showdown with Mankato.

St. Cloud's magic number to lock up the first half in the Great Plains West is down to two with only a series with Duluth remaining on the schedule. First pitch from the series opener at Joe Faber Field will be at 7:05 pm.

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St. Cloud Rox pitcher Johnny Dow

Northwoods League Stories from July 1, 2021

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