CORPUS CHRISTI - Hooks right-hander Josh James tossed five scoreless frames before Corpus Christi's bullpen faltered in a 6-3 loss in the series finale at Whataburger Field.
CORPUS CHRISTI - Hooks right-hander Josh James tossed five scoreless frames before Corpus Christi's bullpen faltered in a 6-3 loss in the series finale at Whataburger Field.
James battled Arkansas starter Chase De Jong, who also began the contest with five scoreless innings. The game remained scoreless until lefty Framber Valdez entered in the sixth. Valdez allowed back-to-back singles to start the frame while Joey Curletta drove in the game's first run with an RBI single. Arkansas tallied another when Valdez threw a wild pitch as Chuck Taylor raced in to score, making it 2-0.
The Travelers notched two more runs in the seventh when Braden Bishop laced a two-run double.
Trailing 4-0, the Hooks mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh. De Jong allowed a leadoff homer to Nick Tanielu, his second blast in as many games. Randy César then drew a walk. Jamie Ritchie brought Cesar home with a run-scoring double into the left centerfield gap, cutting the deficit to 4-2. A wild pitch later brought Ritchie home to bring Corpus Christi within a run.
Valdez gave the Travelers a pair of runs back in the eighth on an RBI triple from Chris Mariscal and a run-scoring groundout by Seth Mejias-Brean. The Travelers led 6-3.
Arkansas' bullpen limited Corpus Christi's offense for the duration of the contest, as Art Warren spun a pair of scoreless innings and Matt Festa earned a save with a scoreless ninth.
The Hooks return to action on Thursday in Frisco, TX for the start of a four-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders at Dr. Pepper Ballpark. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. You can listen to the game on 1360 AM KKTX or online.
