Frisco Comes Up Short At Midland
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MIDLAND, TEXAS – The Frisco RoughRiders got the tying man 90 feet away in the ninth inning, but came up just short of a sweep in a 4-3 loss in Midland at Citibank Ballpark on Tuesday night.
It was a close game throughout, but Frisco (37-27) never led on Tuesday. Midland (30-34) broke the scoreless tie in the third. Frisco starter Kevin Pucetas allowed the eight and nine batters in the order to reach to begin the third inning. A sacrifice bunt from Connor Crumbliss put them into scoring position, and D’Arby Myers broke the ice with a sacrifice fly to plate the game’s first run. The league’s leading hitter Anthony Aliotti brought home another with a single to make it 2-0.
On the day he was announced as the starting first baseman for the South Division All-Star Team, Aliotti reached in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two walks in the contest.
Tomas Telis, a Mid-Season All-Star Selection himself, did his best to keep the RoughRiders in the ballgame as well. In the following half inning, Telis came up with two in scoring position and two outs, and he came through with a game-tying single to level the score at 2-2 in the fourth.
Midland retook the lead with a two-run single from Jake Goebbert, also an
All-Star selection, in the fifth inning.
Both teams went scoreless until the ninth. Midland’s Sean Murphy completed six innings allowing just the two runs, scattering seven hits in the process. The bullpen fired two scoreless frames behind him and sent us to the ninth with the score still 4-2 Midland.
Frisco rallied for three runs in the ninth inning on Sunday in Midland, and began the ninth Tuesday looking to do the same.
The ‘Riders offense cracked three straight singles to begin the frame, the final one coming from Telis, to bring the deficit to one-run at 4-3. Odubel Herrera laid down a sacrifice bunt to move two men into scoring position for the first out of the inning. The RockHounds walked Ryan Strausborger intentionally to load the bases. But then Kyler Newby, working on his second inning in relief, got Hanser Alberto to pop out in foul ground and Teodoro Martinez to ground out to end the rally and the RoughRiders’ hope at a sweep.
Telis went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Alex Buchholz was a perfect 4-for-4 and scored two of the ‘Riders runs.
Pucetas (7-5) suffered the defeat, his 12th decision in 13 appearances. Murphy (3-2) earned the win. Newby (6) picked up the two-inning save.
The RoughRiders return to Dr Pepper Ballpark on Wednesday at 7:05 pm, two games back of first place to begin their longest home stand of the season with a four-game series against the first place Corpus Christi Hooks. Nick McBride (0-2, 11.70 ERA) takes the ball for Frisco against right-handed pitcher Nick Tropeano (1-4, 3.71 ERA). Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 6:40.
For information on tickets to see the RoughRiders in 2013, please call (972) 731-9200, email info@ridersbaseball.com or visit www.ridersbaseball.com.
