'Riders' Sadzeck falls six outs shy of no-no

Connor Sadzeck wasn't overly disappointed when he lost his chance at a no-hitter in the eighth inning. Or maybe he was, just a little.
"It was bittersweet, although way more sweet than bitter," the right-hander said. "As a pitcher, you'd love to throw a perfect game or a no-hitter. At that point, you're conscious of it, but you're trying not to think about it. I made a good pitch and he did a nice job going the other way and finding a hole through the shift."

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Despite losing his shot at a no-hitter, Sadzeck tied his career high with 10 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings as Double-A Frisco held on for a 5-3 win over Corpus Christi on Sunday at Dr. Pepper Ballpark.
Garrett Stubbs broke up the no-hitter on Sadzeck's first pitch of the eighth, grounding a clean single into left field. Things unraveled a bit for the Rangers' No. 10 prospect, who walked a batter and plunked two in the inning, the second forcing in the Hooks' first run of the game.

"I got away from what I was doing all game," Sadzeck said. "But you just step back on the mound and get back to work. It's tough to say what happened that inning, whether it was emotions or me wearing down a bit. But I just figured, 'Let's get a ground ball and turn two.'"
Sadzeck (2-1), who failed to retire a batter while surrendering four runs on Opening Day, had allowed an unearned run and five hits over his previous two starts. The 25-year-old extended his streak without allowing an earned run to 17 2/3 innings before three runs crossed the plate in the eighth. He was ultimately charged with three runs on one hit, two walks and two hit batters and has a 3.44 ERA through four starts.
"I think I did a good job of getting ahead of hitters tonight," Sadzeck said. "I was able to get ahead with my fastball, and my curve really helped me out -- it was probably the best I've ever thrown it. I really wanted to focus on that because it can be a difference-maker for me. When it's going good, it really helps out my fastball and I don't have to be quite as fine."
The Howard College product said he had a tough time getting over his rough start to the season, but after going back to basics in his second outing, he's been virtually unhittable. That continued Sunday as Sadzeck struck out the side in the first and fourth innings en route to retiring the first 16 batters. He walked Trent Woodward with one out in the sixth, but that was the Hooks' lone baserunner until the eighth.

"It was tough after that first start, that night and the next day in particular," Sadzeck said. "You wake up the next morning and it's still weighing on your mind. But the sun still comes up and you have a job to do, so you get back to work and focus on the next start. It's in the past and what's done is done, so at that point, my job is to go out there and prepare to get my team a win any way that I can." 

Sam Wolff gave up one hit but retired the final four batters he faced to record his first save since Aug. 21, 2013.
Luke Tendler -- who hit 23 homers last year in the California League -- slugged his first Double-A homer, a three-run shot in the third that gave the RoughRiders a 4-0 cushion. 
Drew Ferguson had a two-run single for Corpus Christi.