RoughRiders Draw Record Crowd but Fall 8-5 to Travelers
Baseball games around July 4th typically draw very large crowds, and tonight, Thursday, July 3, 2025, was no exception. An impressive 12,081 fans showed up at Riders Field, marking the largest crowd in Frisco RoughRiders franchise history.
That beats the previous record set on Dude Perfect Night by 14 fans. Despite the electric vibe, the RoughRiders couldn’t pull off the win, falling 8-5 to the Travelers.
Langford Homers in Rehab Start
Outfielder Wyatt Langford, currently on an MLB rehab assignment for the Texas Rangers due to a strained oblique, made a rehab start in Frisco. He hit a home run in his 2nd at-bat, finishing the game going 1-for-3 at the plate with a HR. I imagine we will see him back with the Rangers this weekend.
Jones II Keeps Rolling
Keith Jones II, just named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for June, played his 3rd Double-A game tonight. He had an RBI-double, adding to his early success. He’s hit a home run, single, double, and triple across his first 3 games, effectively hitting for the cycle. He’s currently slashing a line of .308/.308/.769/1.077 with a HR and 3 RBI in Double-A.
RoughRiders’ Offense Falls Short
The RoughRiders lineup scored 5 runs on 9 hits, drew 2 walks, and struck out 6 times. Keyber Rodriguez and Marcus Smith each had a multi-hit game. Rodriguez went 3-4, while Smith went 2-3 with an RBI.
The Texas Rangers’ top prospect, Sebastian Walcott, recently named to the Futures Game, went 0-4 with an RBI and stole his 19th base of the season.
Pitching Struggles Early
Josh Stephan started for Frisco and pitched 5 innings. He gave up 7 runs on 8 hits, with 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 1 wild pitch, 1 hit batter, and 86 of 57 strikes. The Travelers scored all 7 runs he allowed in the first 3 innings, though he managed a couple of innings where he shut them down.
Out of the pen, Larson Kindreich pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one with 11 pitches, 8 for strikes. Nick Krauth pitched 2 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts, throwing 38 pitches with 22 for strikes, holding a 4.88 ERA. Avery Weems pitched 1 inning, allowing 1 hit and striking out 2 with 12 pitches, 8 strikes.
Travelers’ Pitching Edges Out
Travelers starter LHP Reid VanScoter pitched 6 innings, holding the RoughRiders to 4 runs. He allowed 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches with 53 strikes.
The Mariners’ No. 2 ranked prospect, Lazaro Montes, went 1-4 with a walk. The 20-year-old has a 1.190 OPS in 9 games at the Double-A level.
The RoughRiders scored 2 runs in the 1st, 1 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th, and 1 in the 9th, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit. The RoughRiders are now 3-6 in the second half. They will head to Arkansas for the final 3 games of this series. They are 41-36 on the season.
Quick Hits For other Rangers affiliates
— Round Rock Express (39-45) lost 7-6 in 10 innings against the Space Cowboys. Cody Freeman had a huge game at the plate: 2-for-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI. He now has 12 home runs this season - just two HR's shy of his career-high.
— Hub City Spartanburgers won 9-7 against the Winston-Salem Dash. John Taylor went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI. He's hitting .412 with a .973 OPS.
— Hickory Crawdads (42-35) won 7-2 over the Cannon Ballers. LHP Michael Trausch earned his 2nd win after pitching 2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He walked two and struck out one.
Brock Porter pitched 2 scoreless innings as well. He allowed two hits, struckout one and lowered his ERA to 3.40 on the season.
— ACL Rangers (23-21) lost 8-5 in 11 innings to the ACL Guardians. Good to see RHP Jose Corniell back on the mound. He pitched 1 inning and had an unearned run on one hit and one walk.
Deward Tovar went 2-for-5 with a HR and 2 RBI. Paulino Santana and Rashawn Pinder each had a 2-hit game.
Aidan Curry pitched 5 innings out of the bullpen, allowing only one hit and striking out eight.
