METAIRIE, Louisiana - Round Rock Express (2-2) OF Yordan Alvarez smoked a no-doubter home run to deep center field in the top of the 10th inning to give the E-Train a thrilling 9-6 win over the New Orleans Baby Cakes (2-2) on Sunday afternoon at the Shrine on Airline. The
METAIRIE, Louisiana - Round Rock Express (2-2) OF Yordan Alvarez smoked a no-doubter home run to deep center field in the top of the 10th inning to give the E-Train a thrilling 9-6 win over the New Orleans Baby Cakes (2-2) on Sunday afternoon at the Shrine on Airline. The blast was Alvarez' fourth in the last 24 hours after he hit three in yesterday's doubleheader.
New Orleans RHP Tommy Eveld (0-1, 12.00) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on two hits and two walks in 2.0 innings of relief. On the winning side, Express RHP Dean Deetz (0-0, 0.00) was a walk away from a perfect 2.0 innings out of the bullpen. The righty picked up three strikeouts in his season debut.
The Baby Cakes opened an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as LH Harold Ramirez singled before eventually coming home on a two-out Wilkin Castillo RBI single. Round Rock C Jamie Ritchie answered with a solo homer off New Orleans starter RHP Joe Gunkel in the third. Not to be outdone, Baby Cakes CF Isaac Galloway gave his team the lead right back with a one-out homer in the bottom of the frame.
Both teams traded a pair of runs in the fifth. Singles by Ritchie, SS Alex De Goti and CF Myles Straw leveled the game and left a pair of runners in scoring position for 2B Jack Mayfield . The infielder delivered with a sacrifice fly to left that gave the E-Train a 3-2 lead.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the inning. New Orleans SS Deven Marrero tallied a leadoff single prior to a Galloway walk. A throwing error by Ritchie allowed Marrero to score the game-tying run while Galloway advanced to third. RF Austin Dean then put his team back on top with an RBI single.
Straw's speed helped give Round Rock the lead once more in the top of the seventh. Following a single, the speedy infielder stole second base then scored from second on an ensuing Mayfield base hit. The Baby Cakes responded with two more runs of their own in the bottom of the inning thanks to a two-run single off the bat of Dean.
Express LF Taylor Jones pulled his team within 6-5 with a solo home run in the eighth. Down to their final out an inning later, De Goti connected on an Eveld offering for a towering home run to left that leveled the game at 6-6 in the top of the ninth.
The 10th inning began with Straw on second base, per Minor League Baseball's recently-instituted extra innings rules. Following a Nick Tanielu walk, Alvarez played hero for the second night in a row, blasting a three-run shot to deep center field that put Round Rock on top for good at 9-6. E-Train RHP Dean Deetz worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 10th to preserve the game four victory.
Round Rock and New Orleans close out their five-game opening weekend series on Monday morning. Express RHP Rogelio Armenteros (0-0, 0.00) is scheduled to face Baby Cakes RHP Ben Meyer (0-0, 0.00). First pitch at the Shrine on Airline is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
The Express kick off the home portion of their historic 20th anniversary season on Tuesday, April 9 for a five-game series against the Nashville Sounds (Texas Rangers affiliate) at Dell Diamond. Single game tickets, season memberships and flex plan ticket packages are on sale now.
For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the conversation during our historic 20th anniversary season using #20STROng.
