RoughRiders Lose Wild Game In Corpus Christi
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS-In a game that was wild, wacky, and everything in-between, Corpus Christi hung on to beat Frisco 8-7 in 11 innings Thursday night at Whataburger Field. Twice a hero, Austin Wates landed the final blow, with a 3-run walk-off homer against ‘Riders reliever Tim Murphy (3-8).
For the second straight game, Frisco took the early lead. With one out, Leury Garcia lined an 0-1 pitch to right, for a triple. He’d score one batter later, on a sacrifice fly by Jurickson Profar, to make it 1-0 Frisco. For Profar, it was his league-leading sixth sacrifice fly of the season.
The Curacao native added his second RBI in the fifth inning. Ryan Strausborger opened the inning with a single and a stolen base, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Engel Beltre. After a walk by Garcia, Profar came through again, bringing home Strausborger on a groundball to the right side.
Mindful of a powerful Hooks offense (with 2-4 in the order coming up), the
RoughRiders pushed home two more in the top of the ninth. Alex Buchholz and Zach Zaneski led the charge with a pair of singles to begin the inning, while both came home on RBIs by Val Majewski and Ryan Strausborger. The hit by Majewski was a double, his second extra-base hit in as many games.
Trailing 4-0, Corpus Christi capitalized off three walks in the bottom of the ninth. With the bases loaded, Jay Fernandez poked a swinging bunt up the third base line to cut the ‘Riders lead to three. The infield single also kept the bases packed for Austin Wates, who cleared them with a double to send the game to extra innings.
In a bizarre sequence, the ‘Riders took a temporary 5-4 lead, following an intentional walk, and a pair of hit batsmen by Hooks reliever Josh Zeid. However a Drew Muren double, sacrifice bunt, and wild pitch forced an 11th frame.
Frisco loaded the bases for a second straight inning, against Hooks closer Jason Stoffel, forcing a pitching change by Corpus manager Keith Body. Tangling with Henry Villar (3-2) Chris McGuiness laced a two-run single through the right side to make it 7-5 ‘Riders.
On to close it out, Tim Murphy struck out the first two batters he faced, but back-to-back singles by Jake Goebbert and Chris Wallace kept the game alive for Austin Wates. The Hooks hero in the ninth, Wates powered Murphy’s 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to give Corpus Christi an 8-7 walk-off win.
Henry Villar vultured the win, working 0.2 of an inning and allowing one hit. Tim Murphy suffered the loss, giving up the game-winning 3-run homer.
Frisco plays the second of four games against Corpus Christi on Friday night. TL All-Star Jake Brigham (4-4, 4.28) makes his 18th start of the season for Frisco, and will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time all season. The Hooks counter with Jake Buchanan (4-5, 5.02), who has not picked up a win since defeating Frisco on June 23. First pitch is slated for 7:05 from Whataburger Field, and can be heard on KKGM 1630 AM or on ridersbaseball.com. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:30.
The RoughRiders return home on Monday, July 16, when San Antonio visits Dr Pepper Ballpark. To purchase tickets, fans can visit ridersbaseball.com.
