Early runs doom Riders in 11-1 loss
FRISCO, Texas (May 14, 2022) – The Tulsa Drillers plated six runs in the first two innings Saturday night, a deficit too tall for the Frisco RoughRiders as they fell 11-1. Jonathan Ornelas finished 3-for-5 in his Saturday effort, raising his season average to a .357 through 28 games. Box
FRISCO, Texas (May 14, 2022) – The Tulsa Drillers plated six runs in the first two innings Saturday night, a deficit too tall for the Frisco RoughRiders as they fell 11-1. Jonathan Ornelas finished 3-for-5 in his Saturday effort, raising his season average to a .357 through 28 games.
Frisco Jack Leiter (1-3) surrendered three runs in the first inning and three in the second and finished with six runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings. Drillers starter Bobby Miller (1-1) earned the win behind five scoreless frames with one walk and six strikeouts to stifle Frisco’s offense.
Tulsa began their early offense with two singles on the first two pitches from Leiter in the bottom of the first. Andy Pages poked a double down the third-base line to score two and Justin Yurchak drove Pages in for an early 3-0 lead.
The Drillers drove three more runs across in the second behind a two-run double from Ryan Ward, ending the night for Leiter with five outs recorded and a 6-0 lead.
After providing the final out of the second with a strikeout, Grant Wolfram held Tulsa away from runs by retiring Tulsa in order in the third. The Drillers brought in another with a pair of extra-base hits in the fourth when Jacob Amaya tripled and Andy Pages doubled, stretching the lead to 7-0.
Riders reliever Chase Lee tossed a flawless sixth inning, thanks to a huge defensive effort by centerfielder Josh Stowers to execute a diving catch in left-center field, robbing Michael Busch of a hit. Stowers climbed the centerfield wall to deny Busch of extra bases earlier in the fourth inning, as well.
After Tulsa scored runs in the fourth and fifth, Frisco hopped on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh with a leadoff walk to David Garcia, then Blaine Crim grounded a ball past third baseman Kody Hoese (ruled an error) to score Garcia from first and break up the shutout.
Tulsa resumed their scoring with a two-run home run from Hunter Feduccia in the bottom of the seventh. Jeren Kendall then tripled in the bottom of the eighth to score the final run of the game and hold the 11-1 margin.
Frisco and Tulsa conclude the first of their two series in the regular season Sunday, May 15th at ONEOK Field with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Riders LHP Cole Ragans (2-1, 2.25 ERA) takes the mound for his sixth start of 2022. Ragans is coming off of a nine-strikeout outing on May 8th against Arkansas at Riders Field, while Tulsa’s starter is to be determined.
The RoughRiders return to Riders Field on Tuesday, May 17th to host the Corpus Christi Hooks for the first time this season. 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].