(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Rox led 10-3 after seven innings on Sunday, but that seemingly dominant position wasn’t enough as Willmar stormed back to take Game One of the teams’ best-of-three playoff series.
St. Cloud will now need to win two straight on the road to advance to meet Duluth or La Crosse. The Stingers pushed across nine runs in the eighth but it was a tack-on insurance run scored in the top of the ninth that proved to be the dagger. Former ROCORI High School standout Jack Spanier touched the dish to put Willmar up three.
St. Cloud scored two in the bottom of the ninth and had runners on second and third when Kaden Amundson went down swinging. The team also left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth when trailing 12-10.
The wild game featured 25 runs, 25 hits, and seven errors. It lasted for three hours and 59 minutes, the longest Rox contest of 2024. Game Two is scheduled for Monday night at 6:35.
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