RoughRiders Open Series At Midland With Win

{fshare id=3788}

MIDLAND, TEXAS – The Frisco RoughRiders opened their road trip with a 4-2 win against the Midland Rockhounds at Citibank Ballpark Saturday night. The RoughRiders didn’t score after the first but held on for their third straight win.

Frisco (17-12) got the bats alive early in the ballgame in their first trip to Midland of the season. Frisco tallied four runs in the first off RockHounds starter Carlos Hernandez. Guilder Rodriguez led off the game with a single, and two batters later, Brett Nicholas doubled him home to make it 1-0 and give Nicholas his team-leading 22nd RBI. Zach Zaneski singled to put two aboard, and Chih-Hsien Chiang then grounded into a fielder’s choice, bringing Nicholas around to score to put Frisco ahead 2-0. Ryan Strausborger placed the back-breaking blow of the first inning with a two-run home run to left field to extend the lead to 4-0 ‘Riders.

Both pitchers kept the bats quiet after that until the fourth inning. Midland (13-16) cut the lead in half with a two-out, two-run double from Chad Oberacker in the fifth against Frisco starter Kevin Pucetas. Pucetas was knocked for three hits in his final two innings but stranded four baserunners in sixth and seventh to keep the lead in-tact.

The bullpen wasn’t perfect Saturday, but they kept the Midland scoreless the rest of the way. Tyler Tufts allowed a pair of singles in the seventh, and Wilmer Font walked three batters in two innings. The third RoughRiders double play of the night and clutch pitching helped the pair to three scoreless frames.

In total, Midland left on nine baserunners and went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They also outhit Frisco ten to eight.

Pucetas (4-2) won his team-leading 4th game, going six innings with just two runs against

him. He scattered eight hits and a walk and fanned four. Hernandez (1-4) took the loss, while Font earned his fourth save.

The RoughRiders play game two of the four-game series in Midland Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.The pitching matchup pits Frisco’s Carlos Pimentel (3-1, 2.70 ERA) against the RockHounds’s right-hander Murphy Smith (3-3, 2.04 ERA). Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 1:40.

Frisco will return to Dr Pepper Ballpark Monday, May 13 at 7 p.m. when they host Midland. For information on tickets to see the RoughRiders in 2013, please call (972) 731-9200, email info@ridersbaseball.com or visit www.ridersbaseball.com.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares