Express Walked Off by Comets, 10-9

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Express came out of the gate with a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first. 2B Justin Foscue, LF Trevor Hauver and 1B Jonah Bride recorded back-to-back-to-back doubles with Hauver and Bride each driving in a run.

Oklahoma City DH Jack Suwinski got aboard with a walk to start the second. The next batter, 2B Austin Gauthier, poked a double into the right-field corner that sent Suwinski all the way around, cutting the Comets’ deficit to one.

In the bottom of the third, a Round Rock RHP Ben Anderson wild pitch cost the Express a run. With runners on second and third, Anderson’s errant slider allowed LF Zach Ehrhard to score from third to make it 2-2.

Round Rock RF Aaron Zavala led off the fourth with a double and C Jose Herrera followed with a walk. 2B Justin Foscue came to the plate with two down and delivered an RBI single through the left side. Foscue’s base knock put the E-Train ahead, 3-2.

The Comets took their first lead of the night with two runs in the sixth inning. Suwinski and Gauthier kicked it off with back-to-back base hits. With runners on the corners, CF Michael Siani drove Suwinski in on a groundout to tie the game once again. 3B Ryan Fitzgerald sent Oklahoma City ahead on an RBI double to left. The Comets led 4-3 after six complete.

The Express responded with four runs in the top half of the seventh. Hauver led off with a single and Bride and MacIver followed with walks. Helman grounded into a force out scoring Hauver from third, then RBI singles from Zavala and C Jose Herrera put Round Rock ahead, 7-4.

Oklahoma City tied it up once again with a trio of runs on RBI singles from Suwinski, Gauthier and Siani to make it 7-7.

In the eighth, Bride got aboard with a walk and moved from first to third on MacIver’s single. During the play, Ehrhard’s wild throw from left landed in the Comets’ dugout and Bride was awarded home for an 8-7 lead.

Round Rock 3B Richie Martin added a run with a solo homer in the ninth. Martin’s first home run of the season extended their edge to 9-7.

In the bottom of the ninth, Gauthier drew a walk and Fitzgerald tallied a single. Down to their last out, 1B Ryan Ward belted a home run into the Oklahoma City bullpen. Ward’s walk-off homer gave the Comets a 10-9 win.

E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Round Rock posted a season-high nine runs on Saturday. They rallied for four runs in the seventh inning which is the first time they have scored more than three runs in an inning this year. The E-Train have a .279 batting average (50-179) in this series and they are averaging 10 hits per game. They entered this series averaging 6.8 hits per game on the year. Entering Saturday, the Express were 4-1 in games where they score more than five runs.

ONE-RUN GAMES: Round Rock has lost all three games this week in Oklahoma City by one-run and five of their last six losses have been by a run. The Express dropped to 1-6 in one-run games on the season. They own a -14 run differential this year. Salt Lake has the same record as the Express and owns a -48 run differential.

FINDING A GROOVE: RHP Josh Sborz made his sixth appearance of the season on Saturday night. Sborz threw 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, striking out three batters, walking two and allowing one hit. The right-hander has given up one run across 7.0 IP for a 1.29 ERA while holding opponents to a .160 batting average this season.

NEXT GAME: Sunday, April 11 at Oklahoma City FIRST PITCH: 2:05 p.m. CT BALLPARK: Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark

For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and X!