RoughRiders use ten unanswered runs to defeat Naturals, 10-5

FRISCO, Texas (July 10, 2024) – The Frisco RoughRiders defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 10-5 on Wednesday evening from Riders Field.

Box Score

Northwest Arkansas (6-8, 41-42) started the scoring in the top of the second when Kale Emshoff delivered a solo homer against Frisco (9-5, 53-30) starter Ryan Garcia (6-4).

Leading 1-0 in the top of the third inning, Leonel Valera crossed the plate on a 4-6-3 double play off of Tyler Tolbert’s bat. River Town later scored on a wild pitch to give the Naturals a 3-0 advantage.

The RoughRiders loaded the bases in the top of the third, but were unable to push across a run.

In the top of the fourth, Valera delivered an RBI double, plating Peyton Wilson to extend the lead to 4-0.

Frisco found the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth when Aaron Zavala brought Keyber Rodriguez across the plate with a single. Abimelec Ortiz singled to load the bases for the Riders before Cooper Johnson cleared the bases with a three-run double, tying the game at 4-4.

The RoughRiders sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring four runs to take an 8-4 lead. Frisco loaded the bases for the third time in the contest and took the lead when Maximo Acosta scored after Anthony Simonelli (4-1) hit Alejandro Osuna with a pitch. Cody Freeman provided the Riders with their second three-run double of the night, giving Frisco an 8-4 lead.

Garcia exited after 6.0 innings, surrendering four runs on four hits and two walks while fanning two.

Ortiz added to the Riders lead with an RBI single in the home portion of the seventh inning, bringing Zavala home from second.

In the bottom of the eighth, Daniel Mateo scored on Freeman’s sacrifice fly to make it a 10-4 advantage for Frisco.

The RoughRiders bullpen continued its dominance as Skylar Hales worked a pair of scoreless frames, allowing two hits and striking out one.

Ricky DeVito entered for the ninth inning in a non-save situation, allowing one run on a sacrifice fly by Town to cut the Riders lead to 10-5.

Offensively, the Riders erupted for twelve hits. Zavala and Ortiz paced the team with three hits each. Freeman’s four RBIs marked a season high for the infielder.

The RoughRiders continue a six-game homestand against the Naturals at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, July 11th. RHP Ben Anderson (4-4, 4.24) will take the mound for the Riders against LHP Noah Cameron (2-4, 3.84) for the Naturals.

The weekend starts on Thursday at Riders Field! Enjoy Thirsty Thursday with half-price drinks through the 7th inning. Prefer to catch the game from the Lazy River? Purchase a Twisted Tea Rowdy @ The River ticket (21+ only) and grab $2 Twisted Tea, Truly and Miller Lite cans until 8 pm in the Lazy River.

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]**.