Express Earn 8-5 Victory in Series Finale Over Skeeters

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Round Rock Express (9-3) captured their first series win over the Sugar Land Skeeters (7-5) thanks to an 8-5 victory on Tuesday night at Dell Diamond. Round Rock holds the top spot in the Triple A West League’s East Division, one game above second-place El Paso.

On the winning side, Round Rock reliever RHP James Jones (1-0, 0.00) threw a perfect 1-2-3 eighth inning of relief. Rehabbing Houston Astros RHP Jake Odorizzi (0-1, 12.00) was tagged with the loss for Sugar Land after allowing four runs on five hits while walking one and striking out four in 3.0 innings on the mound.

Sugar Land took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when RF Bryan De La Cruz hit a leadoff home run to right field. The lead didn’t hold long as Round Rock responded quickly with four runs of its own in the bottom of the second inning.

The Express scoring run started when 1B Curtis Terry hit his fifth home run of the season to bring in C John Hicks and DH Eli White, who had reached on a walk and single, respectively. 2B Charles Leblanc added a fourth run for Round Rock after singling to right field, stealing second base, advancing to third on a Sugar Land error and eventually finding home off a single from LF Delino DeShields.

Sugar Land’s second run came in the third inning when De La Cruz hit his second homer of the night, a 384-foot shot to right-center. On the other side, Round Rock found home plate in the fourth and fifth innings when White doubled to left field before eventually scoring on a single from Leblanc and an inning later, RF Jason Martin knocked a 414-foot solo home run to center field for a 6-3 lead.

The Skeeters pulled within one after scoring three runs in the sixth inning. After 3B Taylor Jones, 1B Lorenzo Quintana and DH Jose Siri all reached base, 2B C.J. Hinojosa hit a double through the gap to left-center field to bring in Jones and Quintana. Siri scored on a single from LF Jake Meyers to cut the Express lead to 6-5.

Round Rock scored insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings to seal the 8-5 win. In the bottom of the sixth, Leblanc, who finished with three hits, scored his second run of the night by racing home on a ground out from 3B Yonny Hernandez after tripling to right field.

The final run for the Express was White’s third of the game after he found himself in scoring position thanks to a walk and advance on wild pitch. A single from Terry, who totaled a season-high four RBI, brought White across home.

Round Rock will spend the next two weeks on the road, starting with a six-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners affiliate) at Cheney Stadium. The series opens on Thursday, May 20 with first pitch set for 9:05 p.m. CT. Round Rock LHP Wes Benjamin (1-0, 0.00) is up to start against a Tacoma pitcher to be announced.

Single game tickets as well as full season and mini season membership plans are on sale now. For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!