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 Oklahoma City Baseball Club

Dodgers Play Scrooge in Round Rock

July 24, 2015 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Baseball Club News Release


Round Rock, Texas - On "Christmas in July" night at Dell Diamond, the Oklahoma City Dodgers handed out lumps of coal to the Round Rock Express, winning handily, 7-1, Friday night.

With the win, the Dodgers (61-37) snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 10-3 this season against the Express (56-42).

The pitching staff was naughty, holding the Express to just one run and one hit. On the other hand, the offense was very nice, notching seven runs and 17 hits - the team's second-highest single game total this season.

Eric Stults and David Huff conjured up the ghosts of one-hitters' past, combining to throw OKC's first one-hitter since May 5, 2014, when Mike Foltynewicz and Paul Clemens did it in a 5-1 victory in Omaha.

Round Rock's lone hit came from the Express' very first batter - a leadoff single by Ryan Strausborger in the first inning. Stults then retired 20 of the next 21 batters he faced, as well as 21 of the final 23, allowing a only pair of walks.

Stults (1-0) picked up his first win with the OKC Dodgers and left the game after seven strong innings. He finished with six strikeouts.

David Huff replaced Stults in the eighth, and after walking the first batter he faced, Huff retired the game's last six hitters to complete the one-hitter. Stults and Huff combined for seven strikeouts and three walks, and did not allow a runner to advance past first base after the first inning.

Round Rock parlayed its only hit into its only run. After Strausborger singled, he stole second base and advanced to third on the play after a throwing error by OKC catcher Ralph Henriquez. Strausborger later scored on a sacrifice fly by Brett Nicholas.

The Dodgers tied the game in the third, loading the bases with none out. Scott Schebler's RBI groundout made it 1-1. Although the Dodgers had runners at second and third with one out, and loaded the bases again with two outs, they could not take the lead.

They would take the lead in the next inning, though. Kyle Jensen led off and smashed an opposite field home run to right-center field to put OKC in front. Later in the inning, the Dodgers had the bases empty with two outs when Darnell Sweeney singled. Sweeney proceeded to steal second base and score on RBI single by Darwin Barney to make it 3-1.

Barney was one of six Dodgers with a multi-hit game, collecting a season-high four hits with two RBI. Sweeney broke out of a recent slump with three hits.

Two more runs followed in the fifth inning. Chris Heisey drew a leadoff walk, and Andy Wilkins delivered a RBI double. With Wilkins still aboard at second base and two out, Buck Britton sent a ground ball to first base that was mishandled by Nicholas, allowing Wilkins to score.

The Dodgers kept things rolling in the seventh. Jensen led off with a double and scored two batters later on a RBI double by Ralph Henriquez. With two outs, Barney notched his fourth hit of the night, and his RBI single made it 7-1.

Although the Dodgers notched 17 hits, they also struck out a season-high 17 times and tied their season high with 14 runners left on base.

Round Rock starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff absorbed the bulk of the damage, allowing five runs (four earned) and 10 hits over 4.2 innings. Eickhoff (8-4) picked up his first loss since May 29 at Tacoma - a span of 10 starts. He allowed three walks with nine strikeouts.

The Dodgers continue their series in Round Rock starting at 6:05 p.m. Saturday night at Dell Diamond. Live coverage begins at 5:35 p.m. on AM 1340 "The Game", 1340thegame.com, or through the iHeartRadio mobile app.


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