Early offense propels Frisco over Wichita, 8-5

WICHITA, Kansas (July 19, 2024) – The Frisco RoughRiders defeated the Wichita Wind Surge 8-5 on Tuesday evening from Riverfront Stadium.

Box Score

Frisco (12-7, 56-32) started the scoring against Wichita (5-14, 36-52) starter Marco Raya (0-3) in the top of the first inning when Cody Freeman delivered a base hit that plated Alejandro Osuna.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Carson McCusker worked a leadoff walk against Ryan Garcia (7-4) and later came around to score on an RBI single by Ben Ross, evening the game at 1-1.

The RoughRiders then sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the third inning. Josh Hatcher highlighted the frame with a three-run homer, his seventh long ball of the season. Keyber Rodriguez capped off the four-run frame with an RBI single, scoring Abimelec Ortiz to give Frisco a 5-1 advantage.

Wichita got a run back in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double by Jefferson Morales, cutting the Riders lead to 5-2.

Garcia gave way to Skylar Hales following the fifth inning, finishing his day after surrendering two runs on four hits and three walks with five punchouts across 5.0 innings.

Aaron Zavala notched a two-out double in the top of the seventh inning, later scoring on an RBI single by Maximo Acosta. Frainyer Chavez extended the Frisco lead to 8-2 with a two-run double.

Hales worked a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts before handing the reins over to Robby Ahlstrom, who tossed a scoreless bottom of the seventh.

Ricky DeVito surrendered a run after allowing a leadoff triple in the eighth to Morales, later scoring on a wild pitch to make it an 8-3 deficit for Wichita.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Tanner Schobel worked a bases loaded walk against Seth Clark. Tyler Dearden added an RBI single to cut the Riders lead to 8-5, but Clark ended the threat with a strikeout to secure the win.

Offensively, Frisco notched 12 hits with Hatcher, Ortiz, Acosta and Chavez each collecting two-hit nights. Hatcher’s three RBI paced the Riders as Chavez also drove in a pair of runs.

The RoughRiders continue a three-game homestand against the Wichita Wind Surge (Minnesota Twins) at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday, July 20th. The Riders will turn to RHP Emiliano Teodo (5-2, 1.71) against RHP Andrew Morris (4-2, 1.14) for the Wind Surge.

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 200 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].