PCL1 Round Rock Express

Heineman Leads Express to 10-6 Win over 51s

Published on June 10, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


LAS VEGAS, Nevada - The Round Rock Express (29-34) locked up their first three-game winning streak of the 2018 season by pounding the Las Vegas 51s (26-38) 10-6 in Sunday's game three matinee at Cashman Field.

As has been the case throughout this series, RF Scott Heineman headed the charge on the offensive end for Round Rock as the 25-year-old went 3-5 with a home run and a career-high six RBI, extending his hitting streak to 13 straight games. Over the impressive run, Heineman has boosted his batting average from .258 to .288 while driving in 18 runs.

Express starter LHP Michael Roth (3-2, 3.11) turned in a fantastic outing on the bump, allowing just one earned run through 6.0 innings to earn the win. The 6'1" southpaw held the Las Vegas offense to just four hits on the day, punching out seven and walking two. 51s RHP Chris Flexen (4-5, 5.09) became the third Vegas starter to get shelled by Round Rock's hitters in this series as he was blistered for six earned runs over 7.0 innings pitched.

Heineman followed up his two-homer performance in last night's contest by blasting a three-run moonshot to open the scoring in the third after 2B Christian Lopes and C Juan Centeno led off the frame with a two-bagger and a walk.

The 51s responded by pushing across their first run of the day in the bottom half of the frame when 2B Ty Kelly was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Phillip Evans double. Unfortunately for Vegas, the E-Train bats would return to put up another three-run side in the top of the fourth as 3B Andy Ibanez singled and later scored on a wild pitch before Heineman collected his fourth and fifth RBI of the ballgame on a two-out single that made it 6-1.

After cruising through the first four innings, Roth experienced a spot of adversity in the bottom of the fifth when the 51s put runners on the corners with no outs on consecutive singles from RF Kevin Kaczmarski and CF Ezequiel Carrera. Kaczmarski would eventually score on a passed ball that got away from Round Rock C Juan Centeno, but Roth was able to bear down and limit the damage by coaxing Evans into a flyout before retiring 1B Dominic Smith by way of the K to maintain a healthy 6-2 Express advantage.

In the bottom of the seventh, Heineman showed off his defensive chops as he came to the aid of reliever RHP Adrian Sampson by throwing out a runner at the plate on a 9-2 double play before making a spectacular diving catch in right field with runners on first and second to retire the side. However, Las Vegas would cut the E-Train's four-run lead to three in the frame when Carrera doubled and later scored on a wild pitch by Sampson.

With Round Rock still ahead 6-3 in the ninth thanks to the relief efforts of Sampson and RHP Deolis Guerra, Heineman capped off a sensational day at the plate by driving in his sixth RBI of the game on a groundball single to centerfield. Following a Willie Calhoun walk, DH Ryan Rua punched a two-run shot over the fence in left-center off 51s reliver RHP Joseph Zanghi to seal the win.

The Express will shoot for their first four-game series sweep of the season tomorrow night with LHP David Hurlbut (2-4, 5.51) set to face 51s RHP Corey Oswalt (3-3, 6.32). First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CDT.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 10, 2018


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