Frisco Splits Series At Corpus Christi
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CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Frisco RoughRiders earned a series split with a 5-2 victory against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field on Sunday afternoon. Carlos Pimentel tied a season-high with nine strikeouts en route to his fourth win of the year.
Frisco got things going in the third off Hooks starter Ruben Alaniz. They did it all with two outs; Guilder Rodriguez walked and Odubel Herrera singled. Slugging first baseman Brett Nicholas was next, and he launched his team-leading eighth home run to give the RoughRiders a 3-0 lead.
Before the Hooks could get on the board, Ryan Strausborger added another in the run column for the ‘Riders. In Alaniz’s last inning, the fifth, Strausborger blasted a solo homer, his fourth long ball of the year, which extended the lead to 4-0.
Carlos Pimentel continued his excellent campaign for Frisco. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth and tied a season high with nine strikeouts in his five innings of work. Unfortunately for the right-hander, the first hit he allowed, a single to Zach Johnson set the table for Jiovanni Mier. The shortstop hit his
own home run, his fourth of the year, to cut the lead in half. Pimentel allowed just those two hits in his five innings and walked a couple.
Frisco’s bullpen did the work the rest of the way. Phil Klein worked himself into a bases loaded jam but was not scored upon in two innings of work. Ben Rowen and Wilmer Font both fired scoreless frames as well. The ‘Riders added some insurance in the eighth on a Nicholas RBI single. He drove in four of the five Frisco runs and went 3-for-4.
Pimentel improved to 4-1 on the season, while Alaniz remained winless (0-4). Font collected his sixth save with a couple of strikeouts in a scoreless ninth.
The RoughRiders return to Dr Pepper Ballpark Monday at 7:00 pm, beginning their home stand with a four-game set against the Midland RockHounds. Tyler Tufts (0-0, 4.41) makes his third start of the season. The RockHounds put Zach Neal (3-0, 2.14 ERA) on the mound. Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 6:40.
