Frisco falls to Naturals in back-and-forth contest
SPRINGDALE, Arkansas (September 17, 2022) – The Frisco RoughRiders took the lead early, but eventually lost to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7-5 on Saturday night from Arvest Ballpark. In the second-to-last game of the regular season, Frainyer Chavez led the offense with three hits. The Riders will take on the
SPRINGDALE, Arkansas (September 17, 2022) – The Frisco RoughRiders took the lead early, but eventually lost to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7-5 on Saturday night from Arvest Ballpark. In the second-to-last game of the regular season, Frainyer Chavez led the offense with three hits.
The Riders will take on the San Antonio Missions for the first game of the Division Championship Series on Tuesday, September 20th at 6:35 p.m.
Frisco (37-30, 73-63) scored first in the second inning, plating a pair of runs against Northwest Arkansas (27-41, 58-78) starter Anthony Veneziano (6-9), who earned the win. David Garcia doubled in Trevor Hauver for the first run before Frainyer Chavez added on with an RBI single to make it 2-0.
A run came home for the Naturals in the second on a double play, but the Riders increased their lead back to two after Hauver lifted a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Angelo Castellano ripped a two-run double for the Naturals to tie the game at 3-3, but Frisco volleyed back again in the top of the fifth. Aaron Zavala gave the Riders the lead with a sacrifice fly before Thomas Saggese reached on an error, allowing Evan Carter to score, pushing the advantage to 5-3.
The lead did not last long because Northwest Arkansas shortstop Jeison Guzman tied the game with a two-run home run and Tyler Cropley singled in the go-ahead run off of Riders reliever Josh Smith (4-1).
The Naturals tacked on their final run of the night in the eighth on an RBI single from Tyler Gentry to make it 7-5.
In the loss, Riders infielder Jonathan Ornelas picked up his 155th hit of the season, putting him two back of the franchise record for the most hits in a single season (157 hits, Joaquin Arias, 2005) with one game to go.
The RoughRiders and Naturals complete the regular season on Sunday, September 17th at 2:05 p.m. The Riders have yet to announce a starter.
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. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance for 15 consecutive seasons (2005-2019). 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, InTouch Grille, 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 170 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].