Chutes End Run in Tournament, Rox Win 4th Straight

The St. Cloud Chutes did not advance to the final eight in the American Legion Tournament, the St. Cloud Rox blew out Eau Claire for their fourth consecutive win, and the Minnesota Twins fell to the Cardinals on Friday.

The 95th Annual Minnesota American Legion Division I State Tournament is underway in St. Cloud, but a local team will not be advancing past the pool play round. The St. Cloud Chutes split Thursday's games against Tri-City Red and Rosemount to remain tied with the other three teams in pool one. Then on Friday, St. Cloud fell to Grand Rapids 11-3 to finish 1-2 overall. Grand Rapids won the pool 2-1 and along with runner-up Tri-City Red will play in the semifinals on Saturday. Teams from Foley and Willmar are also competing in the next round.

The Rox beat the Express 10-1 to complete the series sweep. Brice Matthews led St. Cloud with three runs. The Rox improve to 41-13 and remain at the top of the Great Plains West Division with a 4.5 game lead over Mankato. St. Cloud will close out a three-game homestand when they host the Rochester Honkers on Saturday. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:35 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

The Twins came up short on the road, falling to St. Louis 5-1. Despite scoring the first run, Minnesota could not keep the momentum going or stop the Cardinals from mounting a comeback. Tommy Edman led the way for St. Louis, who hit a 3 RBI double with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The Twins fall to 43-61 and the Cardinals improve to 52-51. The teams will play game two on Saturday night with pre-game coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.