Riders victorious in front of historic crowd

FRISCO, Texas (July 4, 2023) – The Frisco RoughRiders rallied late for a 6-3 win over the Midland RockHounds in front of 12,045 fans at Riders Field on Tuesday.

Box Score

The standing-room-only sellout was the second-largest crowd in franchise history and the largest ever on July 4th.

The highlights came late, when the RoughRiders (4-3, 35-40) scored five runs in their final three trips to the plate, including a go-ahead two-run single by Luisangel Acuña. The Riders had trailed 2-1 for three innings until Acuña grounded a base hit up the middle, one of his three hits on the night.

Making his Double-A debut on Tuesday and getting the start just 36 miles from his alma mater at South Grand Prairie High School, Josh Stephan went 4.1 innings with two earned runs and five strikeouts.

Triston Polley (1-0) replaced him in the fifth and picked up the win by logging 1.2 innings with only one hit allowed. Jorge Juan suffered the loss for the RockHounds (5-2, 37-39), allowing the go-ahead single to Acuña in the sixth.

Antoine Kelly picked up his sixth save, dispatching all three RockHounds he encountered in the ninth with two strikeouts and a ground out.

Jax Biggers went 2-for-4 on the evening with a double, scoring an insurance run in the eighth inning.

Frisco took an early lead, scoring in the first inning for the fourth-consecutive game. With two outs and nobody on, Acuña beat out a throw for an infield single and later scored on Kellen Strahm's RBI walk. Frisco did not score again until five innings later when Acuña had the two-RBI single that brought home Liam Hicks and Aaron Zavala.

Hicks was the first Rider to reach base in the sixth and seventh innings, walking both times and scoring the first of two runs in each inning. He scored on a throwing error in the eighth.

Jose Leclerc continued his MLB rehab assignment and went 1-2-3 in the seventh inning. He came back out for the eighth and allowed a solo home run before exiting. Leclerc has now gone two innings with the RoughRiders in two appearances and retired six of the seven batters he has faced.

Michael Brewer entered after the home run and held Midland scoreless the rest of the eighth inning, allowing one single but also inducing a double play ball.

Frisco continues the series with Midland on Wednesday, July 5th at 7:05 p.m. RHP Ryan Garcia (2-7, 6.75 ERA) takes the hill for Frisco, while Midland send out RHP Joey Estes (5-5, 3.51). The six-game series runs through Sunday, July 9th. Get your tickets now at RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the 2022 Texas League champions. In 2023, the team is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has consistently finished in the top five among all Double-A franchises in attendance yearly. 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, Bullpen Bar, 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 185 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball including current Rangers Josh Jung, Cole Ragans and Bubba Thompson. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].