Round Rock Earns 11-8 Victory Over Tacoma 

TACOMA, Wash. – The Round Rock Express (42-30 | 86-60) earned its first victory of the series with an 11-8 win over the Tacoma Rainiers (40-32 | 77-70) at Cheney Stadium on Thursday night.

Express reliever RHP Alex Speas (2-2, 4.61) claimed the night’s win after throwing 1.2 scoreless innings that saw one hit, one walk and one strikeout. Rainiers starter LHP Kyle Hart (4-6, 4.58) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on seven hits and two walks with eight punchouts over 5.0 innings. Round Rock RHP Matt Bush earned a save with three strikeouts over 1.2 innings of relief.

Along the Train Tracks:

• Tacoma plated the night’s first runs in the bottom of the first inning when C Cooper Hummel hit a two-run home run that scored teammate SS Ryan Bliss, who had worked a one-out walk.
• Both teams added a run in the fourth inning after Express 3B Davis Wendzel knocked a single then scored thanks to a double from SS Jonathan Ornelas before Rainiers 1B Isiah Gilliam scored when 3B Robbie Tenerowicz grounded out, making it a 3-2 game.
• Round Rock took over for a 4-3 lead in the fifth. C Jordan Procyshen hit a leadoff bunt single and a double from CF Elier Hernandez put the runners in scoring position before a double from 1B Justin Foscue sent them home.
• The sixth inning saw five more runs for the Express, with the first scoring when Ornelas found home on a sacrifice fly from Procyshen. A single for 2B Dio Arias, walk for Hernandez and hit-by-pitch for LF Wyatt Langford loaded the bases for Foscue, who blasted a grand slam to left field for a 9-3 lead.
• Rainiers DH Brian O’Keefe cut the Express lead to 9-5 with a two-run home run in the seventh. Tacoma then came within one thanks to three runs in the eighth inning. A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases with no outs before a force out, double and groundout made it 9-8.
• Round Rock added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning when Procyshen hit a double to score Arias, who had drawn a walk, and a wild pitch sent Procyshen across home plate for an 11-8 lead. In the bottom of the frame, a Rainiers flyout and two strikeouts ended the game for the Express win.

E-Train Excerpts:

• Five Round Rock batters finished with multi-hit nights on Thursday as SS Jonathan Ornelas led the way, going 3-for-5 with one double, one RBI and one run scored. 1B Justin Foscue, 3B Davis Wendzel, 2B Dio Arias and C Jordan Procyshen all recorded two hits each.
• In his final scheduled start of the regular season, RHP Owen White threw 4.1 innings and allowed three runs, five hits, three walks and struck out five batters.
• Express 1B Justin Foscue posted a 2-for-6 night with a grand slam, one double, six RBI and two runs scored. The team’s last grand slam came from OF Sandro Fabian on August 9 against Albuquerque.
• Notable hits on Thursday included DH Blaine Crim’s single that extended his active hitting streak to 12, which ties his personal season high. Another notable hit was a double from CF Elier Hernandez, which brings his season total to 160, just three away from a new Express Triple-A single-season record.

Next up: Round Rock and Tacoma will play for game four of the six-game series on Friday night, with first pitch at Cheney Stadium scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CT. Express RHP Cole Winn (8-8, 7.59) is slated to take the mound against Rainiers LHP Tommy Milone (6-3, 5.34).

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!