Grayson's Sacrifice the Answer in Extras

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (JULY 14, 2014) - A sacrifice fly to right field from Chris Grayson drove in the go-ahead run and the Frisco RoughRiders prevailed in a 13-inning contest by a 3-2 final score against the San Antonio Missions on Monday night.

The productive out by Grayson drove home Trever Adams from third with the bases loaded. Adams singled off Frank Garces (2-3) with one out in the frame. Garces was the sixth pitcher of the night for San Antonio and took the loss. He hit Patrick Cantwell with a pitch and walked Odubel Herrera to fill the pond.

Will Lamb shut down the Missions in order to pick up his first Texas League save. He struck out two batters in the process.

Frisco took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and the score remained stagnant until the bottom of the ninth inning. Second baseman Odubel Herrera committed his third error of the season in the Texas League, which allowed Rymer Liriano, the inning's leadoff batter, to reach first base safely. All three of Herrera's errors with the RoughRiders have come in the ninth inning.

A single from Hunter Renfroe placed Frisco in a bind as it advanced Liriano to third with no outs in the inning.

Right-handed pitcher Keone Kela buckled down and struck out Cory Spangenberg and it appeared the 'Riders may have turned the corner when Cody Overbeck bounced into his second fielder's choice of the ballgame.

Third baseman Drew Robinson collected and threw home where catcher Patrick Cantwell tagged out Liriano to push San Antonio to the brink.  

However, a single to left off the bat of Robert Kral drove in Renfroe, who had advanced to third on the fielder's choice, and sent the game to extras tied at two apiece.

In the tenth, Tomás Telis gave the 'Riders a man on third with one out. The designated hitter singled, stole second base and then advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher Kral. But in a play that closely mirrored the previous inning, Telis was thrown out at the plate when Guilder Rodriguez grounded into a 5-2 fielder's choice.

The Missions threatened in the bottom half against right-handed pitcher Randy Henry (1-0), but the long-locked hurler struck out Renfroe to continue the game. Henry tossed three frames of extra-innings relief and allowed no runs on three hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

San Antonio looked to erase the memory of Sunday's 11-2 drubbing at the hands of the RoughRiders and quickly jumped on starting pitcher Edwar Cabrera.

The southpaw allowed singles to three of his first four hitters faced to load the bases with one out. As he grappled with his pitch location, Cabrera walked in a run to give San Antonio a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

However, Cabrera's counterpart on the mound, Leonel Campos, struggled early as well and Frisco grabbed the lead in the second inning.

With two outs and a runner on second, Hanser Alberto dropped a double down the left field line to square the game. After a 2-for-22 start to his season in Double-A, Alberto has clubbed six hits and driven in four runs over the last three games.

One batter later, Drew Robinson grounded sharply to second baseman Adam Buschini, who bobbled the handle. Robinson reached on an RBI infield single to give the 'Riders a 2-1 lead.

The two runs off Campos were the first two earned runs allowed by the Venezuelan in 11 career appearances against the RoughRiders.

After the early scoring, pitching for both teams took over the game. Cabrera allowed three hits the rest of his night and finished with six hits and one run allowed over six innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Twice the Missions placed the leadoff man aboard via a double and both times Cabrera rallied to retire the side in succession.

Meanwhile, San Antonio's staff struck out the 'Riders 13 times on the night and held Frisco to two base hits after the second inning.

Frisco's arms did not rack up the K-count, but kept the Missions under wraps until the ninth inning. Brodie Downs, in his second career appearance with the RoughRiders, inherited a runner from Cabrera in the seventh, but did not allow a hit of his own in the frame and sat down the side in order. Another fielder's choice groundball from Overbeck helped the RoughRiders' cause as Alberto the shortstop tossed to Robinson at third to put out the lead runner.

Although Downs hit a batter in the eighth, the veteran finished with no runs and no hits allowed over two innings.

With the win, Frisco (53-39; 13-10) notches its third straight win since an 12-4 thumping by Corpus Christi on July 11. The 'Riders guarantee at least a split in the series with San Antonio and move to 2-3 in extra-inning affairs this season.

The 13-inning excursion lasted four hours and 17 minutes and became the longest game of the year for Frisco both in time elapsed and innings played.

San Antonio (47-47; 11-13) falls to 8-10 against the RoughRiders this year as their losing streak reaches seven games.

After a quick turnaround, the teams will reconvene for a day-camp special at 11:05 a.m. Coverage begins at 10:40 a.m. CDT on www.RidersBaseball.com with the Frisco RoughRiders Pregame Show.

The 'Riders next return to Dr Pepper Ballpark on Thursday, July 17 for a four-game series with the Corpus Christi Hooks at 7:05 p.m. For tickets to see the 'Riders in 2014, call 972-731-9200, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ridersbaseball.com.