Five-run fifth helps 'Hounds extend winning streak

Twopitches into Monday night's game, the Frisco RoughRiders had a 1-0 lead. The game later turned on one pitch, a delivery that J.P. Sportman sent into the left field bullpen. The three-run home run was the highlight of a five-run fifth inning, in which the RockHounds snapped a 1-1 tie and went on to a 7-3 victory at Security Bank Ballpark.
The win was the RockHounds' seventh straight, all in the current homestand. 

Scott Heineman sent James Naile's first pitch of the game in the gap to right-center for a triple and Drew Vettleson followed with a safety squeeze bunt (on pitch # 2 of the game) to give Frisco the lead. The 'Hounds manufactured the tying run in the fourth on a leadoff single from B.J. Boyd, a double to right from Viosergy Rosa and a ground out off the bat of Max Schrock.
Through the first four innings of Monday's game, neither team had held a lead of more than one run over the first 22 innings of the series and the teams had been tied at the end of 12 of the 22 frames.  
That trend changed in the last of the fifth. Andy Paz led off with a single and went to third on Richie Martin's hit-and-run single to right. Brett Vertigan followed with an RBI single on a terrific at bat, one in which he was down 0-2 (and fouled off a pair of two strike pitches) before stroking the go-ahead single to right. On the next pitch, Sportman sent his three-run home run into the left field bullpen, giving the RockHounds the first multi-run lead of the series, 5-1. Boyd followed with a single and a stolen base with Schrock driving him in with a two-out single to cap the five-run inning.

The clubs exchanged runs in the sixth (the 'Hounds scoring on Vertigan's third hit, an RBI double) and the Riders added a run in the ninth.
After allowing the (very) early run, Naile settled in with a solid start, allowing no runs on four hits through the rest of his five innings, Joel Seddon came on in the sixth and got into a bases-loaded jam with one out. He surrendered only one run, however and retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth. Sam Bragg allowed a run in the ninth before closing the door with a three-pitch strikeout of Heineman.
Quick Notes:
Brett Vertigan's outstanding night at the dish (3-for-5, run, double, two RBI) extended his on-base streak to 18 games.
Max Schrock (1-for-4, RBI, stolen base) extended his hit streak to 10 games.
J.P. Sportman (2-for-4, three-run HR) has hits in five straight games. Sportman is 10-for-21 (.476) in that span, with six RBI. The three-run shot gives him 25 RBI for the season, tied for the team lead with Tyler Marincov (both rank among the Texas League's top five).
Viosergy Rosa (2-for-4, double) set up the tying run in the fourth with his double to right and is now 12-for-25 (.480) in the homestand.
B.J. Boyd took an "oh-fer" Sunday - - - that doesn't happen often. The league's leading hitter rebounded, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and adding a stolen base. He has now reached base in 24 of 26 games (with hits in 22 of them) and is hitting a Texas League-best .376.
Tyler Marincov sat out Monday's win but still had a good day. The RockHounds outfielder was named Texas League Player of the Week. For the week of May 1-7, Marincov hit .407, scoring five runs with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI, with his five extra-base hits producing a slugging percentage of .815. His three home runs - along with five RBI - came on Wednesday morning and afternoon, to the delight of a kids' day crowd on Safety Awareness Day, in a 12-3 win over the Corpus Christi Hooks.
The RockHounds and Frisco RoughRiders conclude their four-game series - and the 'Hounds wrap up their eight-game homestand -Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. 
The Texas League "catches its breath" with an off-day Wednesday (the only off day over a 39-day stretch) with the RockHounds then opening an eight-game road trip to Corpus Christi (May 11-14) and Frisco (May 15-18). Right-hander Ariel Jurado (1-3, 5.23) gets the start Tuesday evening for Frisco, with Grant Holmes (RH, 2-1, 5.16) taking the mound for the RockHounds. Don't let the five-plus ERA's mislead (or dissuade) you. Both pitchers are rated the # 3 prospects in their respective organizations (Jurado for Texas and Holmes for Oakland) by MLB.com and each is coming off an outstanding outing.