Cardinals Wrangle RoughRiders with 4-3 Win
May 27, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release
Frisco, TX - The Springfield Cardinals tied the game in the seventh before seizing the lead with two runs in the eighth, coming from behind for the 4-3 win against the Frisco RoughRiders before 9,780 fans at Dr Pepper Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon.
Springfield (15-31) struck early, opening a one-run lead in the top of the third inning against LHP Chad Bell (L, 1-5). With two away, LF Breyvic Valera picked up the first of his three hits on the day to extend the third inning. CF Charlie Tilson followed suit with a single up the middle, moving Valera to third base and keeping the frame alive for SS Aledmys Diaz. Diaz pulled a slow grounder to the left side and beat the play at first base, bringing home Valera with an RBI infield single for the 1-0 lead.
Cardinals RHP Thomas Lee kept the narrow advantage intact through his first four scoreless innings. After a double led off the first inning against Lee, he responded with 11 straight outs to blank the RoughRiders (18-28) through the first three stanzas, before working around a double in the fourth to keep Frisco off the board.
However, the RoughRiders broke through in the bottom of the fifth. 3B Trever Adams sparked the offense with a leadoff single. 1B Preston Beck then reached on a fielder's choice that did not record an out, putting runners at first and second with nobody retired. A base hit from SS Edwin Garcia loaded the bases with no outs, before Lee battled back with a pop out from C Patrick Cantwell. With three on and one away, CF Nick Williams tied it with an RBI single, keeping them full for DH Jorge Alfaro. Alfaro bounced an RBI fielder's choice to short, beating the attempted double play at first base and lifting the RoughRiders into the 2-1 lead.
Lee bounced back with a scoreless bottom of the sixth inning, closing his start with only the two runs allowed through six total frames before Springfield tied it in the seventh. Leading off the seventh, Mejia squared the score with one swing, driving a solo blast to left-center field to make it 2-2.
Cardinals RHP Joey Donofrio (W, 1-2) took over on the mound to start the seventh and picked up right where Lee left off, keeping the new tie intact through his first inning.
With Bell still on the mound in the top of the eighth, Springfield swung in front. Tilson sparked the rally with a bunt single to start the inning, followed quickly by a base hit from Diaz. RF Jeremy Hazelbaker attempted a sacrifice bunt, but Bell fielded the ball and threw out Tilson at third, leaving runners at first and second with one down. After the bunt attempt, Frisco brought in RHP Jesus Pirela to deal to 1B Jonathan Rodriguez. While Pirela was working to Rodriguez, Diaz and Hazelbaker completed a successful double steal, moving to third and second, respectively. Following a strikeout dealt by Pirela, C Michael Ohlman placed a two-out, two-run single to shallow right field, scoring both Diaz and Hazelbaker to propel the Cardinals into the 4-2 lead.
Donofrio dealt a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts, before LHP Lee Stoppelman entered for the ninth. The RoughRiders, though, started the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back walks, followed by a Cantwell sacrifice bunt to put the two potential game-tying runs at second and third with only one away. Stoppelman retired Williams on a looking strikeout, before giving way to RHP Kyle Barraclough (S, 2) to face Alfaro. Alfaro came up with an RBI infield single to short that brought in Beck and moved Garcia to third, with Frisco's deficit down to one run. Facing LF Joey Gallo, the Rangers top prospect, Barraclough won the battle with a game-ending strikeout, closing the Cardinals 4-3 win and leaving RoughRiders at the corners.
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