Mike Kraft/MDN St. Cloud’s Ethan Gibson attempts to turn a double play after getting the force out on Minot’s J. Pearl during the first inning of Thursday’s Northwoods League game at Corbett Field.

The fifth time wasn’t the charm for the Hot Tots and an error-plagued night by the home team played a pivotal role in keeping Minot winless against St. Cloud this season.

The Hot Tots committed five miscues – all on pick-off attempts – that directly led to three of St. Cloud’s runs as Minot fell 7-2 to the Rox on Thursday at Corbett Field. The loss dropped Minot to 0-5 against St. Cloud thus far this season.

The Hot Tots threatened a late-game rally, loading the bases in the ninth with one out, but couldn’t come up with the timely hit. Charlie Kalbrener flied out to shallow center and Max Ortega grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

“I think the errors had a part of it,” Minot coach Brian Lewis said. “But we’re not getting clutch hits either when we have runners in scoring position. I don’t know what the final number is, but we left a lot of guys on base today. In some ways we’re making strides and we’re playing better, but in other ways we still got to get better and defense is one of them.”

St. Cloud struck first, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Ethan Gibson roped a double down the left field line with two outs to plate Augusto Mungarrieta from second. Mungarrieta had advanced to second earlier in the inning after a pick-off attempt from Minot starting pitcher Jason Masick went into right field. It was the first of five errors charged to Minot pitchers on pick-off attempts at first base throughout the game.

Rox starting pitcher Jake Burcham stymied Hot Tots hitters through the first 3 â…” innings, but Minot’s first hit of the contest was a big one. Matt Toomey tied the game 1-1 with a two-out triple to right-center, bringing in Kalbrener all the way from first.

It didn’t take long for the Rox to respond. St. Cloud (18-5) took advantage of a third Hot Tot error to reclaim its advantage in the fifth. Alex Dupuy drew an inning-opening walk before advancing all the way to third on a failed pick-off attempt by reliever B. Davis. Dupuy would come in to score on a sacrifice fly by Brady Ballinger. Dominic Smaldino took Davis deep on the very next pitch, launching a deep shot over the right-field fence to give the Rox a 3-1 lead.

Minot’s bats came to life in the fifth. After being held to just a single hit over the first four innings, the Hot Tots (5-20) collected three hits in the fifth. Ryan Castro and Will Smoot each singled to begin the inning, and a fielder’s choice at second put runners at the corners with one out. Jacob Pearl plated Castro with a single up the middle to bring the Hot Tots to within a run.

“I thought we hit some balls pretty well off the starting pitcher,” Lewis said. “Once we got on the board and got into the game, it was a 3-2 game after seven innings and I thought the offense found a groove a little bit. But we have to find a way to get that clutch hit.”

Burcham worked himself out of trouble and managed to keep the Rox in front, getting both Henry Allen and Kalbrener to pop out in foul territory to end the scoring threat. Allen popped out to the catcher and Kalbrener fouled out to the third baseman just inside the field of play.

The Rox created some distance in the eighth inning thanks to two more errors on pick-off attempts that resulted in two more runs. Mungarrieta doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He would come in to score with Cayden Gaskin getting caught in a rundown between first and second. But the throw from first to second sailed high, allowing Mungarrieta to score easily.

Minot’s fifth error of the game plated Gaskin from third when yet another pick-off attempt at first base went awry, giving the Rox a 5-2 lead.

Davis suffered the loss for the Hot Tots, tossing three innings, allowing two earned runs on just one hit – the homer by Smaldino – while striking out two and walking one.

Burcham went five innings to get the victory for St. Cloud. He allowed two runs, scattering four hits while striking out one and walking two.

The Hot Tots and Rox meet again tonight at 6:35 p.m. at Corbett Field.