Rox Add New Division Foe for 2024 Season

(KNSI) – The Northwoods League is headed west as it adds another team.

The St. Cloud Rox will have a third North Dakota squad to measure up against once Opening Day 2024 rolls around. The new-look Great Plains West subdivision already features the Bismarck Larks and Minot Hot Tots. On Tuesday, the league announced an expansion by extending an invitation to the Badlands Big Sticks of Dickinson.

It will be a healthy bus drive for the Rox. Dickinson is 460 miles away on I-94, taking seven hours to reach. The Big Sticks previously competed in the Expedition League and Independence League Baseball, which includes teams in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

The Big Sticks are one of the smaller markets in the subdivision. Dickinson anchors a market with a population of only about 35,000. Dakota Community Bank and Trust Ballpark was renovated in 2020 and has a capacity of about 1,100. That’s roughly half of what Joe Faber Field fits at St. Cloud’s Municipal Athletic Complex.

The Rox are coming off a 2nd place finish in the west, but they were able to upset the Willmar Stingers in a best-of-three postseason series en route to an appearance in the league title game.

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