RoughRiders Shut Out Springfield
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SPRINGFIELD, MO. – Only Springfield’s Mike O’Neill collected a base hit off of the Frisco RoughRiders, who combined for a 1-0 one-hit shutout victory at Hammonds field against the Cardinals on Thursday night. Carlos Pimentel threw seven innings of one-hit baseball and allowed just three baserunners. It was Frisco’s first shutout allowing one hit or less since Joe Weiland threw a no-hitter on July 29, 2011.
Carlos Pimentel looked his shakiest in the first two innings, walking a batter in the first and the second. He kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard in those two frames though and neither reached scoring position. After the second walk, a leadoff base on balls drawn by Xavier Scruggs, the Frisco right-hander retired thirteen in a row with six of his eight strikeouts on the night coming in that stretch. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Tim Cooney nearly matched Pimentel. The Cardinals southpaw tossed three straight perfect innings from the second through the fourth and didn’t allow a man into scoring position until the fifth when Chih-Hsien Chiang led off the inning with a double for the RoughRiders. He set down Frisco in order following the extra-base hit.
Frisco finally broke the scoreless tie in the sixth. Teodoro Martinez knocked a
one-out single and stole second on a strikeout of Guilder Rodriguez. With two down, Brett Nicholas lined a ball to left field, scoring Martinez, and Nicholas was tagged out at second trying to stretch his RBI single into a double to end the inning.
With that 1-0 lead in tact, Pimentel continued his no-hit performance two batters into the bottom half of the inning. He got Audry Perez to ground out and then struck out Luis Mateo swinging. He then got ahead of leadoff man Mike O’Neill no balls and two strikes, but the left-fielder, and leading on-base batter in the Texas League, grounded a ball up the middle for the first, and only, base hit of the night for the Springfield offense.
Pimentel finished his night retiring the final four he faced, including a strikeout of Xavier Scruggs for the second time. The 23-year-old Dominican went seven innings of shutout ball with just one hit allowed and two walks issued. He fanned eight and threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes.
Frisco only had one hit the rest of the way, but it didn’t matter. Rangers rehabber Justin Miller threw a scoreless and hitless eighth inning despite the Cardinals getting their only man into scoring position on a strikeout and wild pitch to Adam Melker. Wilmer Font walked the first two he faced in the ninth, but a double play and a swinging strikeout of Chris Swauger ended the rally and the ballgame.
Pimentel (6-1) won his fourth consecutive decision, while Cooney (2-1) suffered the tough-luck loss. Font converted his seventh save in as many tries.
The RoughRiders and Cardinals wrap up their three-game set Friday night at Hammonds Field in Springfield at 7:09 pm. Tyler Tufts (1-1, 2.93) eyes a bounceback effort from his roughest outing of the season against the Cardinals Seth Blair (2-3, 6.62 ERA). Fans can tune in to the play-by-play broadcast on www.RidersBaseball.com beginning at 6:45.
The RoughRiders return to Dr Pepper Ballpark Tuesday at 7:05 pm, beginning their home stand with a series against the Springfield Cardinals. For information on tickets to see the RoughRiders in 2013, please call (972) 731-9200, email info@ridersbaseball.com or visit www.ridersbaseball.com.
