Riders even South Division Series in all-time classic 4-3 win

FRISCO, Texas (September 19, 2024) – The Frisco RoughRiders defeated the Midland RockHounds 4-3 in 11 innings on Thursday evening from Riders Field.

Box Score

Frisco (84-54) and Midland (84-54) went scoreless through the first three innings before Cody Freeman pushed the RoughRiders ahead with a solo homer to left field against Jack Perkins in the home half of the fourth inning.

Kohl Drake was dominant, holding the RockHounds scoreless while allowing just two hits and a walk with six punchouts across his 5.0 innings of work.

In the top of the sixth inning, Bryan Magdaleno emerged from the Riders bullpen. The lefty picked up the first two outs of the inning before back-to-back homers from Daniel Susac and Will Simpson gave Midland a 2-1 advantage.

Jackson Kelley, Josh Sborz and Skylar Hales combined to throw 2.1 scoreless and hitless frames while striking out four.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Seth Elledge retired the first two he faced. Down to his final strike, Abimelec Ortiz launched a mammoth homer to right, evening the game at 2-2.

In the top of the tenth inning, Acker retired the first two he faced before surrendering an RBI single to Denzel Clarke that put the RockHounds back in front at 3-2.

In the home half of the tenth inning, Daniel Mateo pinch ran for Cooper Johnson. David Leal (0-1) picked up the first two outs before Alejandro Osuna leveled the score with a two-out RBI single.

Dane Acker (1-0), who entered in the top of the ninth, held the RockHounds scoreless in the 11th. He finished after 3.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on one hit while fanning two.

In the last of the eleventh, Maximo Acosta swiped third base to set the table for Ortiz to drive in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to center.

Offensively, the Riders were held to just five hits, scoring each of their first two runs on solo homers. Ortiz paced the offense with two RBI.

The RoughRiders continue their quest for a Texas League Championship in game three of a best-of-three series against the Midland RockHounds (Oakland A’s affiliate) at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, September 20th. The Riders are expected to turn to LHP Mitch Bratt (2-2, 5.45) against RHP Jake Walkinshaw (1-1, 2.15) for the RockHounds.

For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit 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 celebrated 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 210 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball including current Rangers Josh Jung, Evan Carter and Leody Taveras. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact **[email protected]**.