PCL1 Round Rock Express

Dance Halls Slide Past Honky Tonks 6-5

Published on June 2, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Dance Halls (24-32) rode the bats of 1B Tommy Joseph and 2B Andy Ibanez to a 6-5 win over the Nashville Honky Tonks (27-27), extending their series lead in the 2018 Battle for the Boot Championship to 3-1.

Round Rock RHP Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 4.03) wove together a fantastic six-inning performance, holding the 'Tonks to just one run while racking up five strikeouts to earn the win. On the losing end, Honky Tonks RHP Chris Bassitt (2-3, 6.10) lasted just four innings, surrendering five earned runs on five hits and three walks.

Opposite of last night's contest, the Dance Halls were the team throwing the opening punch in this one, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Joseph was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before Ibanez plated LF Willie Calhoun on a sacrifice-fly to right field.

Ibanez would return to do more damage in the third, extending Round Rock's lead to 4-0 on a looping single into right field that brought home a pair of baserunners in Calhoun and RF Ryan Rua.

The Dance Halls would keep the party going in the fourth as Joseph doubled home Rua on a towering fly ball that just missed clearing the left-centerfield wall for his second RBI of the night to make it 5-0.

Gallardo ran into his only hiccup of the evening in the sixth when Nashville CF Jake Smolinski knocked in a run on a groundout. However, the 10-year MLB veteran was able to navigate his way out of trouble, retiring the side by striking out Honky Tonks DH Anthony García with a runner threatening on third base.

In the bottom of the seventh, Joseph would put the finishing touches on his stellar showing by launching a deep solo shot to left field. The sky-high dinger was the Round Rock first baseman's third home run of the series and his second in as many nights.

The 'Tonks made things interesting in the eighth when RF Ramon Laureano and Smolinski connected on back-to-back homers off of Dance Halls reliever RHP Adrian Sampson to pull within two runs of tying the game. Round Rock LHP Brandon Mann entered the game to stop the bleeding, but surrendered a two-out RBI single to Nashville LF B.J. Boyd that cut the lead to 6-5.

With the tying run on third and the leading run on second, Dance Halls manager Jason Wood called upon his closer RHP R.J. Alvarez to silence the ensuing Honky Tonks rally. Luckily for the Dance Halls, Alvarez was up to the task as Nashville 3B Sheldon Neuse went down swinging on a 98 mph fastball.

Alvarez was asked to complete the four-out save in the ninth and did just that, finishing off the side in order to record his Pacific Coast League-leading 11th save of the season.

The 'Tonks and Dance Halls will finish up the Round Rock portion of this year's nine-game Battle for the Boot series on Sunday afternoon with RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx (2-3, 3.72) set to start on the mound against a Nashville pitcher yet to be announced. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 2, 2018


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