May 24, 2013
102
Games Today




Round Rock Express Rally Past New Orleans 10-5

May 2, 2012 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Round Rock Express

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Matt Kata's two-run single keyed a six-run eighth inning as the Round Rock Express rallied past the New Orleans Zephyrs 10-5 in Wednesday night's Pacific Coast League action at The Dell Diamond. The Express (12-15) posted their first win this season when trailing after seven innings, snapping a 12-game slide. The Zephyrs (15-11) have lost five of their last six against the Express.

Round Rock trailed 5-4 entering the eighth, but Tommy Mendonca's leadoff single sparked the comeback. Yangervis Solarte later singled home Mendonca, tying the game, and Kata's two-run single proved to be the game-winner. Joey Butler added a two-run double and later scored on a two-out New Orleans error.

The six-run eighth matched Round Rock's highest-scoring inning this season. The Express also plated six runs in the ninth inning of a 10-0 victory April 22 at New Orleans. Round Rock has won five of seven against New Orleans this season, including two of three in the current series.

That made a winner of Ben Snyder (1-1), who worked around a two-out Sergio Pedroza single for a scoreless top of the eighth. Tanner Scheppers retired the side in order in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts in a non-save situation. Starter Martin Perez allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over five and one-third innings with two strikeouts.

Mike Dunn (0-1) started the eighth on the mound for New Orleans and took the loss. He surrendered four runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Starter Alex Sanabia worked five innings and surrendered four runs on 11 hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Mendonca was 3-for-4 with his third homer of the season and two RBI, one of eight Express starters to hit safely. Kata, Solarte, Luis Hernandez, Brad Nelson and Luis Martinez all enjoyed two-hit nights. Solarte extended his hitting streak to 13 games, while Nelson pushed his to nine games. Greg Miclat, the lone Round Rock batter to not hit safely, had two sacrifice bunts, including one in the eighth inning following Mendonca's leadoff single.

New Orleans tallied seven hits; no Zephyr had a multiple-ht game. Luke Montz was 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.

Montz plated the game's first run with an RBI groundout in the first. The Express answered with a three-run third that included Mendonca's two-run homer and a Nelson two-out RBI single. After the teams traded runs in the fourth, New Orleans plated a run in each of the next three innings to take a 5-4 lead. Chris Aguila's RBI single in the seventh put the Zephyrs ahead; however, Aguila was called out on the play when he passed Donovan Solano rounding first.

Round Rock and New Orleans conclude their four-game series Thursday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch at The Dell Diamond. Right-hander Neil Ramirez (2-2, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Express, while southpaw Brad Hand (2-1, 3.18 ERA) is slated to start for the Zephyrs.

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us


Pacific Coast League Stories from May 2, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.