Express Earns First Road Win, 2-1

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Round Rock Express finally earned their first road victory of the 2013 season in a 2-1 game over the New Orleans Zephyrs at Zephyr Field Sunday afternoon.

The little offense there was belonged to the Zephyrs through the first four frames, with New Orleans collecting a single hit in the first and third innings. The Express offense came to life a little in the fifth inning, enough to put them on the board. Catcher Eli Whiteside hit a solo shot to left field on a 2-2 pitch to give the Express a 1-0 lead they would never relinquish.

The Express added an insurance run in the top of the seventh after New Orleans starter Tom Koehler was replaced by reliever Jonathan Albaladejo. Designated hitter Robinson Chirinos knocked a double down the left-field line to start off the inning. Two batters later, first baseman Chris McGuiness singled up the middle to score Chirinos. Another hit from Whiteside advanced McGuiness to third, but center fielder Engel Beltre struck out to end the growing threat for the Zephyrs.

Round Rock starter Josh Lindblom provided a solid base for the Express on the pitching side in just his second start since the 2010 season. He went 5.0 innings, giving up just two hits. He didn't walk a single batter and recorded three strikeouts en route to his first victory of the short season. Neal Cotts came in for relief and threw 2.0 innings, giving up one hit while striking out four New Orleans batters.

With Yoshinori Tateyama on the mound for the Express in the bottom of the eigth, New Orleans first baseman Jordan Brown shot a solo blast on a 1-0 pitch to get the Zephyrs on board. Tateyama worked the rest of the inning, allowing a single, but forced a double play to end the threat.

Shortstop Jurickson Profar returned to the Express lineup after missing three games. He went 0-3 with a strikeout. Third baseman Mike Olt had another rough outing, going 0-4 with four strikeouts.  

Round Rock and New Orleans will close out the series with game four of the four-game set tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. Right-hander Ross Wolf (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Express while Brad Hand (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will take the hill for New Orleans. The next set of home games for the Express will include the New Orleans Zephyrs (April 20-23) and the Albuquerque Isotopes (April 25-28). For tickets and more information, visit www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook and Twitter!