Rox Excited To Play Ball [VIDEO]

The St. Cloud Rox have begun practicing in anticipation of their July 1st season opener. The Rox will host their home opener on July 2nd at Joe Faber Field.

Among the 35 players on the roster are ROCORI's Jordan Barth and former Tech Tiger Trevor Koenig. They are both back for a second season with the Rox organization after standout 2019 campaigns.

Barth broke a handful of Rox single-season records, including hits (98) and runs (54), while Koenig finished with a 7-1 record and microscopic 1.35 earned run average.

Barth, who plays collegiately at Augustana, says he prepared all summer as though there would be a season.

"I hit, threw, lifted every day pretty much," Barth said. "A couple buddies and I did live at-bats on Wednesdays for the last two months... just trying to stay healthy."

Koenig, who plays for Pat Dolan at St. Cloud State, says friends and family have been hinting that they want tickets, but they will be hard to come by.

"A bunch of college friends and family want tickets, but with the 250 capacity it will be tough," Koenig said. "It'll be tough but we will make it work."

Field Manager Augie Rodriguez says that the roster is as loaded as it has ever been in his eight seasons as manager.

"It's an honor to coach all the guys we have had in the past, but this year's roster is a group of guys that are really hungry," Rodriguez said. "We have 12 guys coming back to lead us, we have 34 players total and every one of them brings something great to the table."

Above all, the organization is excited to return to the field to give fans something to cheer about during a difficult time in history.

"After a long spring with no baseball it's great to see all the guys out here hitting and throwing," Rox General Manager Mike Johnson said. "Just getting some normalcy back here... it's exciting."

Rox baseball can be heard all season long on AM 1390 Granite City Sports.