Grounded in Midland

MIDLAND, TEXAS (JUNE 16, 2014) - The Frisco RoughRiders reached the midway point in the 2014 campaign with a 3-0 loss to the Midland RockHounds on Monday night at Security Bank Ballpark.

With the loss, the RoughRiders complete the first half with a 40-29 record, the best mark in the Texas League by two games over the Tulsa Drillers (38-31).

Midland (38-32) takes a 2-0 lead in the series with Frisco and evens the season total at seven games apiece. 

Alec Asher (6-6) was saddled with his second straight losing decision. In keeping with a recent trend, Frisco's coaching staff limited the innings of its starter, and Asher endured four innings with one run, five hits and one walk allowed alongside five strikeouts.

Chris Jensen (4-6) won his second straight outing after a six-game losing streak earlier this season. The righty limited the RoughRiders to two hits and four baserunners (never more than one in an inning) over seven frames with five strikeouts and two walks.

Tucker Healy notched his third save and pitched well against Frisco for the second straight meeting. Another righty, Healy faced the minimum over the final two innings and notched his third strikeout with Jake Smolinski at the dish to put the game away.

Midland held the RoughRiders to a season-low two hits on Monday and seven hits through the first two games of the series. The 'Riders registered one extra-base hit on the night and never advanced a runner past second base.

Frisco failed to score a run in a game for the third time this season and second time in the last six days.

The RockHounds opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo home run from Anthony Aliotti, who began the series in a slump but has since regained his form at the plate. Aliotti outhit the RoughRiders and finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI and two extra-base hits.

In the sixth inning, Aliotti struck again with an RBI single off Ryan Bores to put Midland up 2-0. The 'Hounds completed the scoring on a sacrifice fly to right field by Jefry Marte and the three runs proved satisfactory to polish off the win.

The RoughRiders look to get on the board in the series Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CDT in Midland. Coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. on www.ridersbaseball.com with the Frisco RoughRiders Pregame Show.

The 'Riders next play at Dr Pepper Ballpark on Wednesday, June 25 against the Arkansas Travelers 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.