Round Rock Falls 11-5 in Series Opener Against Sugar Land

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Round Rock Express (37-42) dropped its series opener to the Sugar Land Skeeters (45-33) by a final score of 11-5 on Thursday night at Dell Diamond. 1B John Hicks and CF Leody Taveras both knocked home runs for the Express, leading to all five of the team’s runs.

Round Rock RHP Yerry Rodriguez (0-1, 24.00) was tagged with the loss in his Triple-A debut after a 3.0-inning start that saw eight runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Skeeters RHP Seth Martinez (4-2, 3.35) worked a hitless 1.0-inning relief outing to the win after tallying just one walk.

Hicks sent the first runs of the contest home in the first inning after hitting his third home run in as many games, a blast that also scored C Yohel Pozo, who had hit a single in the previous at-bat, for a 2-0 lead.

Sugar Land took over for a 3-2 lead in the second as 3B Taylor Jones knocked a base hit, DH J.J. Matijevic drew a walk and 1B Michael Papierski hit a single to load the bases. All three advanced on a balk, which scored Jones. Matijevic then came in on a Miguelangel Sierra sacrifice fly before Papierski scored as C Garrett Stubbs doubled.

SS C.J. Hinojosa was the next Skeeter to find home plate as he recorded a double before moving to third on a passed ball and scoring as LF Norel Gonzalez hit a single to start the third frame. A walk from 3B Taylor Jones sent Gonzalez to second before he scored thanks to a Papierski base hit. Jones and Papierski helped increase Sugar Land’s advantage to 8-5 as they came home on Sierra’s three-run homer before a strikeout ended the inning.

Round Rock added three to its total during the bottom half of the third. RF Steele Walker tallied a single for his first Triple-A hit to leadoff the inning and was joined on base as DH Nick Solak singled. Taveras cleared the bases with his 14th home run of the season, trimming Sugar Land’s lead to 8-5.

The Skeeters launched a home run in both the fourth and fifth frames to reach a double-digit run total as Gonzalez’ solo shot went to right field in the fourth and Matijevic’s went to left in the fifth. Hinojosa plated RF Jose Siri for Sugar Land’s final run in the sixth, hitting an RBI double after the right fielder reached on a single for the 11-5 final.

Express RHP Jason Bahr and RHP Nick Snyder combined for three shutout innings to close out the night and keep the Skeeters off the board past the sixth. In his Triple-A debut, Snyder’s ninth-inning performance included one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

Round Rock and Sugar Land are back in action for game two on Friday night. Express RHP A.J. Alexy (--) is scheduled to start up against Skeeters RHP Peter Solomon (5-0, 5.55). First pitch at Dell Diamond is set for 7:05 p.m.

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!