Frisco (67-42) opened up a twelve game homestand Tuesday night against Springfield (61-48), the St. Louis Cardinals’ AA Affiliate. RHP Ben Anderson (5-6, 3.86 ERA) got the starting nod for Frisco to square off against RHP Brandon Komar (6-1, 2.32 ERA) for Springfield.
Springfield created lots of loud contact early on, with Nathan Church and R.J. Yeager each ripping doubles in the 1st. Thankfully a diving effort from Aaron Zavala robbed Bryan Torres of a lead-off single, and Zavala combined with Max Acosta to gun down an over zealous Chandler Redmond at the plate, keeping it a 1-0 game early on.
Springfield got to Anderson again in the 3rd with Chris Rotondo scoring by ways of a fielder’s choice, after an error by Cody Freeman allowed runners at the corners. However, Anderson began to grow into the game from this point and retired 11 of the next 15 Springfield batters he would face, finishing with a line of 7.0IP 8H 2ER 2K 0BB for the night.
The Frisco offense began to show signs of life in the 4th as Cody Freeman scored on a fielder’s choice off a Luis Mieses grounder to make it 2-1. The RoughRiders then capitalized off a lead-off Cooper Johnson walk in the 7th with Alejandro Osuna ripping a double off the bottom of the right field wall, tying the game at 2. Cody Freeman followed suit two batters later, as he found the right-center gap to give Frisco its first lead of the night.
This lead would last for two batters as Jimmy Crooks took Frisco LHP Seth Clark deep to left field for his 10th HR of the year, and Dakota Harris drove in the eventual game winning run to give Springfield a 4-3 lead in the 8th.
Bryan Torres would then start a chain of four singles in a row for Springfield to start the 9th, giving them a comfortable 6-3 lead that the Frisco offense was unable to overcome.
Frisco failed to capitalize off a stellar outing from Ben Anderson, as the offense produced only 2 XBH from 11 hits. Abimelec Ortiz (3-4) and Cody Freeman (2-4, RBI) helped provide offensive sparks at points, but the RoughRiders were ultimately unable to hold onto their narrow late lead as they drop the first of a six game series against Springfield 6-3.
The RoughRiders will be back in action Wednesday night against Springfield, with the first pitch slated to be thrown at 7:05 PM CDT. RHP Dane Acker (4-4, 3.24 ERA) is slatted to get the nod tomorrow evening for Frisco, and is expected to face off against RHP Tink Hence (4-3, 3.02 ERA).
