St. Cloud Rox make another postseason run

SAINT CLOUD – With an 8-1 loss in the Northwoods League semifinals to the La Crosse Loggers, the St. Cloud Rox’s 2024 season has come to an end.

La Crosse scored four runs in the first inning and boosted the lead to 8-0 before the Rox scored a run in the eighth. After the August 14 game, the Loggers traveled to Kalamazoo to play the Growlers in the championship. In that game Aug. 15, Kalamazoo won 8-7 after five extra innings. La Crosse broke the tie in the top of the 13 ^th , but the Growlers answered with runs in the 13 ^th and 14 ^th .

St. Cloud finished with a record of 45-28, winning the Great Plains West division for the second year in a row. The Rox won the second half of the season and beat Willmar in the three-game divisional. They played the Loggers for the Great Lakes crown. It was a rematch of last year’s semifinal when St. Cloud beat La Crosse 9-8. Green Bay beat the Rox in the 2023 championship.

Phil Brennaman had the poor start for St. Cloud in the one-game semifinal. He lasted just one inning before Piercen McElyea took over for 4 1/3. Brennaman gave up a solo home run to the Loggers’ second hitter and later in the inning Ryan Kucherak hit a two run bomb. Brennaman’s season ERA climbed to 4.17 with the game and McElyea ended the year with a 6.28 ERA. He had three scoreless innings, but gave up three runs between the fourth and sixth innings.

Tyler Hemmesch, Brandon Jaenke, Kasey Crawford and Candon Dahle also made appearances in relief, each getting a few outs. Usually stingy, Jaenke was credited with the run scored in the eighth. He walked three consecutive batters after a clean seventh inning.

Dallin Harrison and Nathan Anderson were unavailable after pitching earlier in the season.

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At the plate centerfielder Ben Higdon got the Rox’s only RBI, hitting second baseman Sawyer Smith home from second on a sacrifice fly. Smith had reached on an error and was hit over by a single from left fielder RJ Stinson. It was one of three hits in the game, the other two singles being hit by DH Jaixen Frost.

Despite the disappointment in the semifinal, St. Cloud set several league records this year showcasing an ability to produce even while the league has expanded several times. Even with a slow start, the Rox set single-season team records in runs scored (494), RBI (430), home runs (65), stolen bases (174), on-base percentage (.389), slugging percentage (.418) and OPS (.807). First-year manager Nick Studdard said he wanted to emphasized offense and baserunning over the summer. He took the skipper role after three years in an assistant role.

Contact reporter Reid Glenn at rglenn@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud Rox make another postseason run