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 Frisco RoughRiders

2014 Frisco RoughRiders Game Notes

August 29, 2014 - Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


Eight is enough: A sudden explosion for the Frisco offense was enough for the RoughRiders to bully their way past the Hooks last night in an 8-5 win at Whataburger Field. Frisco scored eight runs in the seventh inning to overturn a 2-0 deficit and then held off a furious Corpus Christi rally in the ninth to claim its second straight victory. Conrad Gregor got the scoring started with a two-run home run off Alec Asher in the second inning, but the 'Riders righty did not allow another run during his six innings. Brady Rodgers was coming off a perfect sixth inning but ran into a buzzsaw to open the seventh. J.T. Wise doubled and then quickly scored on a Nomar Mazara single to cut the gap in half. Jorge Alfaro followed with a two-run blast to make it 3-2 Frisco. Odubel Herrera added an RBI double later in the frame, and then he scored on a base hit by Trever Adams against reliever Matt Heidenreich. After an intentional walk to Joey Gallo, Wise bopped a three-run homer out of the yard to give the 'Riders a six-run lead. The eight-run frame was the biggest-scoring inning of the season for Frisco, while the eight hits tied a 2014-best. In the ninth, an error opened the door to three unearned Hooks runs, but Joseph Ortiz induced a Telvin Nash pop up to end the game, leaving the tying run in the batter's box.

Today's Pitching Matchup: The RoughRiders and Hooks meet for the final time this year tonight and Jerad Eickhoff takes to the mound against the tandem combo of Kyle Smith and Mike Hauschild. Eickhoff beat Midland in his last outing and has lasted seven innings in each of his last three starts. Over his last five starts he is 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA to lower his season ERA 45 points. In seven games (six starts) against Corpus Christi, Eickhoff is 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA, but a .228 batting average against. Smith has been solid in his last three outings, allowing two runs on six hits over ten innings. He has lost his last three decisions and has not won since July 16. In four games (three starts) against Frisco, he is 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA. Smith started the season pitching for Lancaster and made seven appearances (three starts), going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA. In 27.2 innings, he allowed 18 hits with 12 walks, 31 strikeouts and a .178 batting average against.

Smith, ranked 22nd among the Astros' top prospects by Baseball America, is in his first full season with Houston after he was traded at the 2013 deadline in exchange for Justin Maxwell from the Royals organization. In 19 starts for Wilmington last year, he went 5-4 with a 2.85 ERA, but went 1-1 with a 7.33 ERA in five starts for Lancaster; in 127 innings overall, he allowed 119 hits with 117 strikeouts and 38 walks. Kansas City selected Smith in the fourth round in 2011 out of Santaluces Community High School (Lantana, Florida). Undersized at 5'11" and 175 lbs., he throws a low-90s fastball, a curveball and a changeup. Hauschild lost his last start on Saturday, allowing three runs in six innings against San Antonio. He has thrown the ball well against Frisco despite an 0-2 record in three games (two starts), posting a 2.57 ERA. Hauschild started this season pitching for Advanced-A Lancaster, where he pitched in eight games (four starts) and went 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA (17 ER/34.2 IP), 31 strikeouts, nine walks, 40 hits allowed, and a .310 opponents' average. The Beavercreek, Ohio native split last year between Lancaster and Quad Cities, going 9-4 with a 3.50 ERA (48 ER/123.1 IP), 88 strikeouts and 30 walks in 28 games (19 starts). The Astros selected Hauschild in the 33rd round (999th overall) of the 2012 draft out of the University of Dayton, where he was a four-year starter. In his senior season with the Flyers, he went 9-7 with a 4.26 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 120.1 innings. The Flyers won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and made the NCAA tournament for the first time ever; they lost both of their games at the College Station Regional to Texas A&M and TCU, respectively. Hauschild ranks second in Dayton history in career (269) and single-season strikeouts and is third in wins (12). Prior to attending UD, Hauschild graduated from Beavercreek High School, the same alma mater of Indians pitcher Justin Masterson and Janet C. Wolfenbarger, a four-star general and the highest-ranking woman in the United States Air Force. A groundball pitcher, Hauschild throws a fastball, a splitter/forkball that he throws to righties, a changeup (which he says he has the best control of his offerings and features to lefties) and a slider.

Second half race: With four games remaining in the 2014 regular season, it is official that Frisco and Midland will meet in the South Divi- sion Championship Series, though which team will win the second half title has not been determined. The 'Riders have a one game lead over the 'Hounds in the second half standings in the division and will meet at Dr Pepper Ballpark for the final series of the regular season. No matter what happens in tonight's action, Midland will need to win the series in Frisco - possibly via a sweep -to clinch the division be- cause the RoughRiders will own the first tiebreaker (head-to-head record in the second half; Frisco leads 7-4 at the moment) if they finish with the same record. If the 'Riders head home with a one or two-game lead, they only need to win once over the weekend to clinch; if the teams are tied heading back to Dr Pepper Ballpark, the series winner will be the second half champion. Frisco will host the first two SDCS games on September 3 & 4; games three and four will in Midland while game five will be hosted by the team that wins the second half.

Hey now, you're an All-Star: The Texas League Postseason All-Star team was announced on Thursday and the best team in the Texas League was well represented. The RoughRiders placed three position players on the squad, with first baseman Trever Adams, third base- man Joey Gallo and utlity infielder Odubel Herrera garnering selections. Additionally, Jason Wood was named the circuit's Manager of the Year while pitching coach Jeff Andrews was feated as the Mike Coolbaugh TL Coach of the Year. Earlier this week, Frisco's Eric McMahon was honored with Tulsa's Brian Buck as co-Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year for the TL by the Professional Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society, marking the second time in three years he has won the award. Former Myrtle Beach Pelicans and current 'Riders Gallo, Jorge Alfaro and Nick Williams were all named Carolina League Postseason All-Stars while Gallo was elected MVP.

Late liftoff: The RoughRiders bid adieu to their troubles against starting pitchers in the seventh inning of last night's game against the Hooks. Before exploding for eight runs in the seventh (five against starter Brady Rodgers), Frisco had been blanked by the starters during their entire road trip, a streak of scoreless innings that had reached 39. From the first inning on Saturday night until the end of the sixth on Thursday, the combination of Chris Jensen, Deryk Hooker, Shawn Haviland, Mark Appel, Jordan Jankowski and Rodgers had held the 'Riders scoreless. During this period, Frisco hit just .126 (16 for 127) with one extra-base hit (a double), seven walks, two hit batters and 39 strikeouts. Despite this tough stretch, the 'Riders have gone 4-2 on the trip.

Phat Alberto: Frisco shortstop Hanser Alberto went 1 for 4 on Thursday to continue a good run at the plate. Alberto is the owner of a 12-game hit streak, his longest since joining the RoughRiders in early July. During the streak, the Dominican is batting .356 with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored. This streak has continued a tremendous improvement in the batter's box for Alberto, who was hitting just .164 after game one of a doubleheader on July 22. Since then, he has hit .319 (36 for 113) to raise his average 104 points.

40-40 Club: Slugger Joey Gallo tied up Wednesday's game with a monster solo home run to right-centerfield in the ninth inning, a blast that might have left Whataburger Field had it not been for the strong wind blowing in off Corpus Christi Bay. The blast was Gallo's first in ten days, his 20th in the Texas League, his 41st overall this season and the 103rd of his pro career. On August 17 Gallo became the first minor leaguer to have back-to-back 40 home run seasons since Ron Kittle did it in 1981 (40 for Glens Falls White Sox) and 1982 (50 for Edmonton Trappers). He became the first teenager in more than 50 years to hit 40 longballs in a season last year. Since joining the RoughRiders on June 9, Gallo leads the Texas League in homers (20) and total bases (127). He is second to Kris Bryant of the Iowa Cubs in all of professional baseball with 41 home runs (two shy of Bryant). Minor League Baseball's reigning home run king is also third in the minors in slugging percentage (.619) and 5th in OPS (1.013).

#Winning: August 12th's victory marked Frisco's 70th win of the season and, because the team will play a maximum of 139 regular sea- son games, the club is guaranteed to finish the year with a winning overall record, continuing a tradition of victorious play on the diamond. The RoughRiders have finished .500 or better in nine consecutive seasons and own an all-time record of 896-765 (.539). The last time Frisco finished below .500 was the only time in team history, back in 2005 when it finished 58-82. The streak of non-losing seasons is by far the longest in the Texas League; every other team in the circuit has had at least one losing season in the last three years. The streak is the longest in Double-A and the third-longest among all 120 full-season minor league clubs, exceeded only by the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (12 straight non-losing seasons) and the Advanced-A San Jose Giants (11). Including teams that play in short-season leagues, Frisco's streak is the sixth longest; the Elizabethton Twins (26), Brooklyn Cyclones (14) and AZL Giants (14) have the longest such streaks in stateside Minor League Baseball.


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