Box Score

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Scott Richmond worked six strong innings, and Ricardo Nanita tallied four hits as the Las Vegas 51s defeated the Round Rock Express 8-5 in Wednesday night’s series finale at The Dell Diamond. The Express (53-66) and 51s (66-52) split their four-game series ahead of the PCL’s final off-day Thursday.

Richmond (9-6) allowed two runs – one earned – over six innings on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. All five hits were singles, and he retired the side in order three times. Chad Beck allowed only a Leonys Martin ninth-inning single in two scoreless innings for his 14th save.

Mike McDade’s first-inning RBI single set the tone for the night. Las Vegas added three runs in the second on Kenan Bailli’s RBI double and RBI singles from Jonathan Diaz and Jack Cut. Round Rock got on the board in the second when Brad Nelson coaxed a leadoff walk and later scored on a Yangervis Solarte sacrifice fly. The 51s responded with a Bailli RBI single in the third and pushed their lead to 7-1 in the fifth on Mike McCoy’s two-out, two-run double.

Round Rock got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a Luis Hernandez RBI single, and the Express rallied for three runs on three hits in the seventh when Hernandez delivered a two-out, two-run double and scored on Julio Borbon’s subsequent single. The Express would get no closer, though. Cust walked with one out in the eighth, stole second and scored on Nanita’s fourth hit of the night – a single to right.

Express starter Justin Grimm (1-1) suffered his least-effective of six outings with Round Rock. He allowed seven runs on 11 hits and two walks over four and one-third innings with no strikeouts. Ben Snyder struck out three in two and one-third innings of scoreless relief.

Hernandez finished 3-for-5 with three RBI, posting his seventh multiple-hit effort in his last 11 games. Brandon Snyder (2-for-4) provided Round Rock’s only other multiple-hit outing. Brad Nelson was 0-for-3 with a walk, ending a nine-game hitting streak.

Diaz, Bailli and Tuffy Gosewisch all enjoy two-hit nights for the 51s.

Thursday is the season’s final league-wide off-day. Round Rock embarks on an eight-game road trip Friday, opening a four-game series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CDT at Security Service Field. Southpaw Martin Perez (5-5, 4.53 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Express, while the Sky Sox counter with right-hander Cory Riordan (0-1, 5.61 ERA).