PCL1 Round Rock Express

Express News & Notes

Published on March 30, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


The Round Rock Express make their 2006 debut at The Dell Diamond on Saturday, April 1 when they take on the Corpus Christi Hooks in the first of a weekend exhibition series between the Houston Astros top two farm clubs.

Gam etime on Saturday at The Dell Diamond is 1:05 p.m. All tickets are priced at $5.00 each for the Express-Hooks exhibition game and can be purchased in advance by calling 512-255-2255 or by going to www.roundrockexpress.com.

ALL EXPRESS FULL SEASON TICKET AND FIREWORK PACKAGE HOLDERS PLEASE NOTE: You receive Saturday's exhibition game as part of your 2006 ticket package, and IT IS INCLUDED ON YOUR SEASON TICKET CARD. If you have any questions, please call the Express ticket office at 512-255-2255.

The Express and Hooks will also meet on Sunday, April 2 at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi in a 4:05 p.m. contest.

EXPRESS VERSUS HOOKS: The two teams will be playing an exhibition game in Round Rock for the second straight year as the Express recorded a 7-5 victory on April 2, 2005. Round Rock and Corpus Christi have met three times in games this spring with the Hooks winning two of the three contests.

The Express also hosted the Astros in an exhibition game in 2005 with Houston winning, 8-2 on April 1 at The Dell Diamond.

SEASON OPENER APRIL 6: The Express will begin their second Pacific Coast League season on Thursday, April 6 when they open an eight-game road trip at Zephyr Field in New Orleans at 7:05 p.m. Round Rock was 10-6 against the Washington Nationals top farm club in 2005 and compiled a 3.17 era versus the Zephyrs.

The opener will be the first outdoors professional sporting event held in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina devastated the area last August.

The Express and Zephyrs also play Friday at 7:05 p.m., Saturday at 6:05 p.m., and Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Round Rock then concludes the roadtrip with a four-game series at the Oklahoma RedHawks, April 10-13.

HOME OPENER APRIL 14: The 2006 Express home opener is set for Friday, April 14 versus the Iowa Cubs at 7:05 p.m. It will be the first of 12 Fireworks Fridays, presented by Bud Light and News 8 Austin & Clear Channel. In addition, all fans attending the home opener will receive a 2006 Express Magnet Schedule, courtesy of Bud Light.

Tickets still remain for the home opener and can be purchased by calling 512-255-BALL or by going to www.roundrockexpress.com.

EXPRESS EXHIBITION SCHEDULE: The Express are 3-4-1 in the 2006 exhibition schedule, which began on March 17. Round Rock is playing the triple-A clubs from the Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, and Washington organizations. Games in Kissimmee are held at the minor league complex.

2006 ROUND ROCK EXPRESS SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE
(All games start at 1:00 p.m. EDT)
Date Opponent/Location Result
Friday, March 17 Cleveland Indians (Buffalo) at Kissimmee L, 3-7
Saturday, March 18 Atlanta (Richmond) at Disney L, 1-2
Sunday, March 19 Detroit (Toledo) at Lakeland L, 3-4
Monday, March 20 Camp Day
Tuesday, March 21 Atlanta (Richmond) at Kissimmee W, 13-8
Wednesday, March 22 Washington (New Orleans) at Viera T, 2-2
Thursday, March 23 Cleveland (Buffalo) at Kissimmee T, 2-2
Friday, March 24 Detroit (Toledo) at Lakeland W, 6-5
Saturday, March 25 Camp Day
Sunday, March 26 Washington (New Orleans) at Kissimmee W, 4-3
Monday, March 27 Cleveland (Buffalo) at Winter Haven L, 5-13
Tuesday, March 28 Camp Day
Wednesday, March 29 Detroit (Toledo) at Kissimmee
Thursday, March 30 Atlanta (Richmond) at Kissimmee

TIME TO GO HOME: The Express will break camp after Thursday's game and fly to Austin. Some of the Round Rock players began the drive from Florida to Texas on Wednesday.

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Express manager Jackie Moore has scheduled workouts for Round Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 4-5 at The Dell Diamond. The team flies to New Orleans on Thursday morning.

CAMP NOTES: INF-C Eric Munson, who was signed to a Round Rock contract this winter and is a non-roster invitee in big league camp, continues to be in the hunt for a spot on the Astros opening day roster. Munson is batting .367 with four homers and 11 rbi in 24 games and has been uses as a catcher extensively over the last two weeks ...INF Kevin Orie, who is also still in camp on a non-roster invite and played for Round Rock in 2004, has a .286 average with three homers and 12 rbi in 24 spring games. OF Charlton Jimerson, who had a .211 average in his 21 spring games with Houston has gone 3-4 with two rbi in his two games since joining Round Rock...OF Brian Gordon, who also was in the Houston big league camp (.158 in 14 games), has hit safely in his last four Express spring games at 4-13...INF Royce Huffman, who will return to the Express for a 2nd year in 2006, is 3-4 with a homer and three rbi in his last two Express spring games...RHP Dave Borkowski worked three shutout innings in a start in Round Rock's 4-3 victory on New Orleans on March 26...LHP Steve Kent has pitched two scoreless innings in his last two spring games for the Express.
INF Danny Klassen, who sustained a right knee injury in late February during a workout in major league camp, will open the season on the disabled list and may miss a large portion of the 2006 season...He batted .319 in 88 games at Round Rock in 2005...INF Alex Eckelman, who appeared in 61 games for the Express in 2005, is continuing his rehab from off-season shoulder surgery and should be ready for the start of the season.

EXPRESS STARTER: LHP Carlos Hernandez is the probable Round Rock starter for Saturday's exhibition game with Corpus Christi at The Dell Diamond. Hernandez was 0-1, 5.40 in two spring appearances with Houston before being assigned to Round Rock on Monday. The lefthander was a member of the Venezuelan National team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic but faced just one hitter, allowing a homer to David Ortiz of the Dominican Republic on March 7.

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS NOW ON SALE: Individual tickets for all 2006 Round Rock Express home games are now on sale at the Express ticket office at The Dell Diamond, on the team's official website at www.roundrockexpress.com, or via phone by calling the Express at 512-255-BALL (2255). Season ticket packages are also still available for the 2006 season.

BACK IN THE BOOTH: The Voice of the Express Mike Capps returns for a seventh season of calling the radio play-by-play action for all Round Rock games, home and away. Capps will be joined in the booth for all home games and selected away contests by former University of Texas All-American and Oakland A's pitcher Kirk Dressendorfer. All Express games can be heard on ESPN Radio 1260 AM in Austin. Both the Saturday and Sunday exhibition games versus Corpus Christi will be carried on ESPN Radio 1260. Each broadcast begins with a 30-minute pre-game show and concludes with a 20-minute post-game show.

ASTROS SPRING TRAINING SATELLITE FEEDS: Local television stations are reminded that the Astros have one more satellite feed scheduled from Kissimmee this spring. Game highlights and interviews are a part of each 15-minute feed. Here is the information for Thursday's feed:
Date Coordinates Central Time
Thu., March 30 IA 5, xpdr. 7 4:15-4:30 p.m.
Downlink frequencies for coordinates listed above are 3840-Vertical. Audio feed is 6.2/6.8.

SIGN-UP FOR 2006 A+ FEDERAL CREDIT UNION SPIKE'S KIDS CLUB: Youngsters, 12 years of age and under, receive great savings when become members of the 2006 Spike's Kids Club, which is sponsored by A+ Federal Credit Union. For a total price of just $10.00, members receive
--An Official Membership Card
--A Spike's Kids Club cap and t-shirt
--Four berm tickets to five selected 2006 Express home games
--A 10% discount off regular-priced Express merchandise in the Railyard Gift Shop
Sign-Up for the 2006 Spike's Kids Club will be taking place during the Express Open House on March 4. Fans can also call 512-255-2255 for more information and a registration form.

EXPRESS BIRTHDAY BASH: Youngsters can celebrate their special days at an Express game in 2006. Reservations are now being taken for the Express Birthday Bash, Presented by Buddy & Al's Take ‘N Bake Pizza. The Express Birthday Bash is priced at just $200.00 for ten people and includes:
--Berm tickets for the entire group, which may be upgraded to reserve seating
--Two reserved picnic tables on the third base concourse
--Hot dogs and chips or pizza, plus sodas for the entire group
--A cake with the youngster's name in frosting on the cake
--A special birthday gift from the Express
--An opportunity to run on the field with Spike between innings
--A scoreboard birthday greeting
--Party favor packages are also available beginning at $5.00 extra
Please contact the Express Director of Community Relations, Heather Tantimonaco at 512-238-2217 to reserve a date for the 2006 Express Birthday Bash.

EXPRESS RANK AMONG MINOR LEAGUE ELITE
The Round Rock Express attracted a club record 700,277 fans to The Dell Diamond in its first Pacific Coast League season in 2005. That was the second highest total in all of minor league baseball behind another PCL team, the Sacramento River Cats at 755,750.
Since the franchise came to Round Rock for the 2000 season, the Express have a total attendance of 4,074,614. That figures ranks third in all of minor league for that six-year period (2000-05) behind Sacramento (4,853,571) and the Memphis Redbirds (4,718,471). What makes that total more impressive is the fact that Round Rock was in the class AA Texas League from 2000-04 before moving to class AAA. The River Cats and Redbirds have been in class AAA for the entire six-year span.
ROUND ROCK EXPRESS YEAR-BY-YEAR HOME ATTENDANCE: 2000-05
Year Total Dates Average League Rank-Total Attendance
2000 660,110 71 9,297 1st--Texas League
2001 668,792 70 9,554 1st-Texas League
2002 670,176 71 9,574 1st-Texas League
2003 685,973 70 9,800 1st-Texas League
2004 689,286 70 9,846 1st-Texas League
2005 700,277 72 9,726 2nd-Pacific Coast League

Check out the Round Rock Express Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from March 30, 2006


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