Harrison and 'Riders shutout Hooks 6-0

FRISCO, TEXAS (APRIL 19, 2014) - In his third rehab start, Matt Harrison tossed eight scoreless innings and the RoughRiders defeated Corpus Christi 6-0 to win a franchise-record tenth consecutive game on Saturday night at Dr Pepper Ballpark. A four-run first inning and a two-run Drew Robinson homer in the fifth gave Frisco three straight wins over the Hooks.

After giving up one base hit and striking out three to begin the ballgame, Harrison sat down and watched his offense go to work. Jordan Brown walked with two outs and advanced to third on a double that Jake Smolinski dropped into center. Drew Robinson loaded the bases and 'Riders first baseman Trever Adams smacked a two-run single to center. Ryan Rua then hit a routine ground ball to the shortstop, Jio Mier, but the ball took a nasty hop and the infielder could not make the play. Robinson trotted home to give Frisco a 3-0 lead. The RoughRiders tacked on one more run to make it 4-0 on a Tomas Telis single to left.   

The 'Riders also flashed some leather early in the contest with a pair of impressive defensive plays. In the third, Hooks leadoff hitter Nolan Fontana crushed a double off the wall in right-center field, but was thrown out trying to take third following two accurate and strong relay throws by Jake Skole and Guilder Rodriguez. Harrison made the third out on a sharp comebacker and gave the fans even more to applaud.

Seaton night ended after hitting Smolinski with one out in the fifth to put a runner on first base and Luis Cruz came on in relief. Robinson welcomed him to the ballgame by getting all of a 2-2 pitch and depositing it as a souvenir to the fans in right field. The two-run homer, Robinson's third of the season, increased the 'Riders lead to six. Seaton (0-1) finished his outing giving up three earned runs on six hits, walking three, and striking out two in four and 1/3 innings pitched.

Harrison (1-0) looked sharp and continued to pitch well in his gem of an outing. At one point in time, the southpaw retired ten consecutive batters. In eight shut out innings, Harrison allowed three hits while walking one and striking out five. Jon Edwards closed out the game for Frisco in front of a crowd of 10,126.

The RoughRiders look to sweep the four-game set against the Hooks Sunday afternoon at 2:05 at Dr Pepper Ballpark. Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (1-0, 2.25 ERA) looks to earn his second win of the season in his second home start of the year and Matt Heidenreich (0-0, 9.72) gets the ball for Corpus Christi. For tickets to see the 'Riders in 2014, call 972-731-9200, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ridersbaseball.com.