Riders 14 hits not enough in 6-5 loss

FRISCO, Texas (June 18, 2022) – The Frisco RoughRiders finished on the losing end of a 6-5 loss to the Midland RockHounds Saturday night at Riders Field. Frisco left fielder Dustin Harris led the offense with a 3-for-5 night at the plate and two runs driven in.

Box score

The bottom four Frisco hitters of Kellen Strahm, Jax Biggers, Josh Stowers and Matt Whatley all produced four hits, providing eight of the 14 team hits in Saturday’s loss.

The RockHounds (29-33) brought in three runs in the top of the first inning on a three-run home run off Riders starter Jack Leiter (2-6) from Jeremy Eierman. Frisco (31-31) answered the 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the third, an inning that began with back-to-back singles from Whatley and J.P. Martinez. Justin Foscue walked to load the bases for Harris, who drove in two runs with a base hit to right field to cut the Midland lead to 3-2.

Midland’s Chase Calabuig drove in two runs with a double in the top of the fourth to extend the Midland lead back to three runs, 5-3. Leiter’s night ended after four innings and finished with six strikeouts and five runs allowed on two hits, with just one earned.

RockHounds starter Matt Milburn departed in the bottom of the fourth after allowing a Stowers walk and a base hit from Whatley. Facing new Midland reliever Nick Highberger (2-1), Foscue laced a single up the middle to again cut into the RockHounds lead, this time making it 5-3.

The RoughRiders pushed another run across in the bottom of the fifth on a bases loaded walk from Martinez, bringing in Trey Hair from third to trail by a run, 5-4.

After Midland cushioned their lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh, Strahm doubled to begin the inning. Biggers singled to put runners at the corners, and after a wild pitch, Strahm advanced from third to score the final Riders run to make it 6-5.

Frisco brought the tying run to second and the go-ahead run in the ninth but were denied by the RockHounds to end the Riders two-game win streak. Frisco out-hit Midland 14 to five but finished 4-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

Saturday’s game finished at a time of three hours and six minutes, the longest home game since May 17th against Corpus Christi (3:08).

The six-game series concludes tomorrow at Riders Field at 6:05 p.m. as Frisco RHP Tim Brennan (1-1, 1.20 ERA) makes his second start of the week and since joining Frisco's staff. Midland lefty David Leal (0-2, 4.64 ERA) is scheduled to start his ninth game of the year Sunday.

The RoughRiders will take the field on Father’s Day on Sunday donning the name of the Dallas Black Giants, commemorating Juneteenth with president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick in attendance. Fans can arrive early on Sunday for a Dallas Black Giants hat giveaway!

For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance for 15 consecutive seasons (2005-2019). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 170 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].