Rox and Willmar Stingers Guaranteed To Meet in Postseason’s First Round

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Rox won their third game in a row on Sunday afternoon with a 10-6 victory against the Waterloo Bucks. With Willmar dropping a tight decision at Duluth, the team once again is ahead of the Stingers in the standings.

The Rox took the Great Plains West in the first half fairly comfortably, but no Northwoods League team has been better in the back half of the season than Willmar. Their 23-5 mark has catapulted them into a neck-and-neck race for the division’s best overall record with St. Cloud.

The Rox (45-17) and Stingers (44-18) both have six games left. Willmar will play two more at home, but St. Cloud boasts an easier schedule. Left for the Rox are series with Waterloo, the Minnesota Mud Puppies, and Bismarck. Those teams have combined for fewer total wins (42) than the Rox have managed by themselves.

Willmar, by comparison, will have a road set with LaCrosse and end the regular season at home versus Duluth, the Great Plains East First Half Champions.

Willmar and St. Cloud are guaranteed to meet in the opening round of the postseason. The three-game set will see the first contest played at the team with the worse final record. The one-seed then gets Game Two and Game Three (if necessary) at home.

Even though the Rox don’t know when their first playoff contest at Joe Faber Field will be, tickets are already on sale at the team’s website.

___