Northwoods St. Cloud Rox

Rox Reclaim Sole Possession of First

Published on August 11, 2016 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
St. Cloud Rox News Release


St. Cloud, Minn. - Two big swings of the bat were the difference in a battle of playoff teams on Thursday at the Rock Pile, as the St. Cloud Rox (22-11, 46-22) launched two home runs to top the Madison Mallards (20-13, 43-26) by a final score of 5-3.

The Rox win coupled with a loss by the Mankato MoonDogs puts the Rox back atop the North Division second half standings. If the Rox hold on to win the second half they will clinch a home game in the first round of the 2016 Northwoods League playoffs. The Rox have the best overall record in the North Division as well, meaning they would also host a home game on the second night of the playoffs.

Macus Carson (Kentucky) hit his second home of the season, and Denis Karas (Cal Berkeley) hit his fourth, which sealed the Rox win.

Carson sparked the Rox offense early Thursday, hitting his home run on the fifth pitch in the bottom of the first inning. Carson would impress at the plate all night, reaching in every plate appearance with two hits and two walks.

The Rox would strike again in the first inning. Michael Strem (Boston College) hit a one out single and stole his eighth base of the season to stand on second with one out. Brett Pope (Western Carolina) would lace a double later in the inning to bring home the second run of the game.

Doug Van Dyke (Dubuque) had his longest outing of the season, lasting 5.1 innings allowing three runs on three hits and striking out a batter.

Madison chipped away at the Rox lead, eventually going up 3-2 in the sixth inning. The Rox would answer in the bottom of the inning. Pope and Karas led off the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Ricky Ramirez (McNeese State) would then lift a sacrifice fly to plate Pope, tying the game.

In the eighth inning of the game on Turn Back the Clock Night, Mason Mamarella (Kent State) manufactured a good old fashioned run. He reached first on a hit by pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, third on a bunt, and scored on a wild pitch to put the Rox in front.

Five pitches after Mamarella scored, Karas hit a rocket to left center that hit the scoreboard for the second Rox home run of the night, and the fifth, and final, run of the game for the home team,

Chris Martin (Kent State) threw the last 3.2 innings of the game for the Rox, earning his sixth win of the year. He tied his longest outing of the year, and did not allow a hit for the sixth time this season.

For more stats and information about the game, here is the boxscore.

Single game tickets can be purchased 24 hours a day at www.stcloudrox.com, by calling (320) 240-9798 or by visiting the Rox ticket office located at the Municipal Athletic Complex.

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Northwoods League Stories from August 11, 2016


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