RoughRiders Lose To Cards

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SPRINGFIELD, MO. – The Frisco RoughRiders lost their first game of the road trip by a 4-3 score against the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field on Tuesday night. Jerad Eickhoff surrendered three first-inning runs but fired four consecutive scoreless innings to finish his Double-A debut.

Frisco (18-27, 57-58) went quietly after a leadoff single by Luis Sardinas. In the bottom half, though, the Cardinals (22-23, 55-58) did damage against the Frisco starter. Eickhoff walked Jordan Ramsey, the first man he faced, and then surrendered a single to Colin Walsh. Second baseman Rougned Odor bobbled the throw in from the outfield, allowing Ramsey to score.

While the run was unearned, it did not remain that way for long. Three of the next four batters reached, the final of which, Cody Stanley, clubbed a two-run double before running out of the inning trying to stretch the hit into a triple. The double made it a 3-0 lead for the Cardinals after the first inning of the ballgame.

It took Frisco nearly the rest of the ballgame to mount a comeback, but they

did complete it. Seth Blair began by firing six scoreless frames against the RoughRiders, scattering four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. In the seventh, however, he surrendered back-to-back base hits and left the ballgame. A leadoff double for Chih-Hsien Chiang and a single for Tomas Telis set the table, as the Cardinals brought on reliever Kevin Thomas.

Ryan Strausborger then singled to left to end the shutout. With one out, Guilder Rodriguez singled on a ground ball up the middle, bringing both men around. Strausborger, though, was mowed down at the plate, so Frisco scored just one run on the play to make it 3-2 Springfield.

The ‘Riders leveled the score in the eighth. Odor leadoff the inning getting hit by the pitch. Joe Benson singled him to third base, and the new ‘Riders second baseman scored on a single by Chiang, his third hit of the night. The single tied the game at 3-3. Telis then grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Frisco offense was held quiet in the ninth.

In the bottom half of the inning, the ‘Riders brought on Francisco Mendoza. He did not record an out. After a leadoff single, Stephen Piscotty put down a sacrifice bunt, but, fielding the play, Mendoza sailed the throw over Brett Nicholas. The error put men at second and third base with no outs. Stanley was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Mendoza walked Starlin Rodriguez on a 3-2 pitch to end the ballgame in a 4-3 Cardinals victory.

Eickhoff lasted five innings in his first outing as a RoughRiders pitcher. The righthander allowed three runs, all in the first inning, on four hits and three walks. He also fanned three.

Mendoza (0-1) took the loss in his first Double-A decision. Lee Stoppelman (3-1), who recorded one out against the only man he faced, picked up the win.

The RoughRiders play game two of the series in Springfield on Wednesday at 7:09 p.m. Frisco has yet to announce its starter, but Richard Castillo (7-7, 4.25 ERA) gets the nod for the Cardinals. Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 6:45.

The ‘Riders return to Frisco for a six-game home stand on Tuesday, August 13 against the Cardinals. Tickets remain available and may be purchased at the Dr Pepper Ballpark box office, at www.RidersBaseball.com or by calling (972) 731-9200.

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