Dodgers Win Game 1 Against Express, 8-3

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 8

Round Rock Express – 3

Pacific Coast League Championship Series – Game 1

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers built an early lead, then later used a three-run seventh inning to pull away from the Round Rock Express in an 8-3 win in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers (1-0) built a 4-0 lead through two innings. Ryan Ward hit a RBI single in the first inning before Oklahoma City added three runs, including a RBI ground-rule double by Yonny Hernández, RBI groundout by Hunter Feduccia and a RBI single by Drew Avans. Round Rock (0-1) loaded the bases in the third inning with two outs, but Kyle Hurt struck out Blaine Crim to escape the jam. Round Rock chipped away at OKC’s lead and scored runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, including two RBI singles by Sandro Fabian to cut OKC’s lead to one run. Round Rock loaded the bases in the sixth inning with two outs, but Tyson Miller got Justin Foscue to pop out to end the inning. Hunter Feduccia then hit a solo home run out to left-center field in the sixth inning to boost the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3. The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the sixth inning, but added three more runs in the seventh inning, scoring a run on a Round Rock error and adding two more runs on a single by Avans for an 8-3 advantage.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Pacific Coast League Championship Series against the Express. The win was OKC’s first win in Game 1 of a playoff series since 1999 against Omaha at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC had lost the first game of each of its last 12 playoff series entering Tuesday.

-Drew Avans finished with a game-high four hits, going 4-for-4 with a walk, three RBI and a run scored as he reached base in all five of his plate appearances. Avans’ four hits tied his season-high mark also set June 11 in El Paso. His three RBI marked his highest RBI total since that June 11 game when he finished with a season-high five RBI.

-Hunter Feduccia hit his third home run in the last six games and his fourth home run in the last 12 games, going 1-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored.

-Michael Busch picked up a hit as he extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. He is 13-for-37 (.351) with six extra-base hits, eight RBI and nine runs scored during the stretch.

-The Dodgers’ offense scored eight runs on 10 hits Tuesday after the team had been held to a total of five runs on 16 hits over the final three games of the regular season.

-Oklahoma City is making its first postseason appearance since the 2018 season and seeks its first league title since 1996 when the Oklahoma City 89ers won the American Association as a Texas Rangers affiliate.

What’s Next: The Dodgers and Express play Game 2 of their best-of-three Pacific Coast League Championship Series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. With a win, the Dodgers can secure Oklahoma City’s first league title since 1996.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and the first 1,000 fans will receive thunder sticks courtesy of SoFi. Playoff tickets are available at okcdodgers.com/tickets. Live radio coverage of each OKC Dodgers game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps. Video broadcasts of all OKC Dodgers home games are now available to be streamed live for free on the Bally Live app.