Bees Drop Game One in Round Rock

The Salt Lake Bees dropped the first game in Round Rock against the Express on Tuesday, falling 8-5 in a late inning heartbreaker.

Three different Salt Lake Bees’ players had a multi-hit game as Jordyn Adams and Jason Martin each went 2-for-5 with an RBI while Cole Tucker went 2-for-3 with a double and crossed home once. In Martin’s first at-bat in a Salt Lake uniform, he stung a 400-foot home run to dead center in the first inning.

The Bees scored all five of their runs in different innings as Martin’s solo shot to center field gave Salt Lake an early 1-0 lead. In the third inning, Jordyn Adams stretched the lead to two runs with a bunt single that scored Chad Wallach from first base after a catcher’s error pushed across the second Salt Lake run. Round Rock responded quickly with a two-out solo home run from Elier Hernandez (2), cutting the deficit in half. Round Rock took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning after back-to-back RBI singles from Jonathan Ornelas and Jantzen Witte. The Bees tied the game at three runs apiece with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Bryce Teodosio in the seventh inning. Salt Lake took a 4-3 advantage after Cole Tucker roped a leadoff double and later scored after an RBI sacrifice bunt dropped by Elliot Soto but couldn’t maintain the small lead as Round Rock plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning with three consecutive RBI singles. The Express closed the door with a trio of strikeouts in the ninth inning, securing game one of the six-game series.

Zac Kristofak started the game on the bump for the Bees, putting in five innings of work while giving up three runs and striking out three Express batters. Southpaw Tyler Thomas entered in relief in the sixth inning, allowing two runs to score, both in the seventh inning, while hurling two innings. Jose Marte, (L, 0-1) pitched the eighth inning for Salt Lake, giving up the game-winning run and three runs in total.

The second game in Round Rock is slated for 6:05 p.m. MT on Wednesday as Davis Daniel is scheduled to pitch for Salt Lake against the Max Scherzer on rehab assignment for the Express.