Hub City Spartanburgers Clinch Playoff Spot as Rangers Farm System Bounces Back

Hickory Crawdads

The Hickory Crawdads' 2025 season came to a close with a 12-8 loss to the Charleston RiverDogs. Charleston sealed the win with a seven-run eighth inning, giving them a 13-7 season record against the Crawdads. It was a tough finish, with the RiverDogs' Connor Hujsak and Tom Poole each homering for the second consecutive day.

Despite the loss, infielder Esteban Mejia put on a show, collecting a season-high five hits while driving in two runs. The big day boosted his final season average to .268. Kamdyn Perry took the loss for Hickory, who finished the season with an identical 68-62 record to Charleston's.

The Crawdads will be back in action on April 2, 2026, for their home opener against the Columbia Fireflies.

Hub City Spartanburgers

The Hub City Spartanburgers secured a playoff berth with a 6-1 victory over the Rome Emperors. The offense was led by a strong performance from Arturo Disla (2-for-4, 1 RBI), Antonis Macias (1-for-4, 2 RBI), and 2025 15th-round pick Luke Hanson (2-for-3, 1 RBI). Casey Cook also contributed, going 1-for-2 with two RBIs.

Pitching was the story of the day, starting with Kolton Curtis, who was lights out in his three hitless and scoreless innings, striking out three. He was very efficient, throwing 22 of his 32 pitches for strikes. Newly promoted Ismael Agreda earned the win, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing an unearned run on three hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. He threw 31 of his 46 pitches for strikes.

The Hub City Spartanburgers improved their record to 65-66 overall and 34-32 in the second half. They will now face the Bowling Green Hot Rods in Game One of the South Atlantic League Divisional Round on Tuesday, September 9th.

Frisco RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders took down the Midland RockHounds, 5-1, thanks to a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting. The RoughRiders' bats came alive early, as Theo Hardy doubled to put the team on the board in the third, and Sebastian Walcott followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Starter Jose Gonzalez (2-2) was sharp, allowing just an unearned run over his six innings of work. He gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out four. The bullpen—consisting of Jackson Kelley, Emiliano Teodo, and Gerardo Carrillo—shut the door with a combined three scoreless innings.

The RoughRiders added some insurance in the eighth on a two-run triple from Walcott and a sacrifice fly from Keyber Rodriguez. Walcott was on fire during the series, hitting safely in all six games and finishing with a slash line of .360/.429/.560/.989 with a triple, a home run, six RBIs, and three steals. With an Amarillo win, the RoughRiders' elimination number sits at one with six games remaining in the second half.

Round Rock Express

The Express finished the weekend on a high note, defeating the Albuquerque Isotopes, 8-3. The offense was prolific, with Justin Foscue leading the way, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. Over the five-game series against the Isotopes, Foscue posted a .350/.381/.800/1.181 slash line with three doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, and six runs scored.

Trevor Hauver got the scoring started in the third with a two-run double, and Alan Trejo followed with a base hit. The Express blew the game open in the sixth with a two-run single from Billy McKinney and Foscue's two-run homer.

Abimelec Ortiz added to the lead with a 443-foot home run in the eighth.

Out of the bullpen, Dane Acker (3-3) earned the win, tossing 1.1 innings with just one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts.

Acker has been dominant recently, giving up only one run in his last 11.1 innings for a 0.79 ERA over eight appearances since August 12.

Alex Goti also had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, matching his season high from May 23. In his last 15 games, he is batting .314 with four doubles and six RBIs.