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TL1 Frisco RoughRiders

Riders Game Notes - 7:10 p.m. at Arkansas Travelers - April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


First Pitch from Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas is set for 7:10 p.m.

Riders: RHP Richelson Pena (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Travs: RHP Blayne Weller (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Today's game can be heard on the RoughRiders Radio Network at Ridersbaseball.com/media, online and on mobile devices via TuneIn Radio, or on the MiLB First Pitch App. The Dr Pepper Pregame Show with Ryan Rouillard begins at 6:35 p.m. prior to the first pitch at 7:10 p.m. with game coverage from Nathan Barnett and Steve Goldberg. Today's Dr Pepper Pregame Show guest is Riders outfielder Joe Jackson.

LAST TIME OUT:

Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, the Riders mounted a comeback to tie the game over the next three innings and scored twice in the 12th to capture a 6-4 win over the Arkansas Travelers...RYAN CORDELL smacked the club's first homer of the year in the sixth to make it 4-1, and Frisco put together a pair of runs in the seventh and the game-tying run on a single by JOE JACKSON in the eighth...The Riders bullpen posted seven scoreless innings, including 3.1 innings from RYNE SLACK who earned the win.

THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER:

While almost every facet of the RoughRiders team is clicking right now, the bullpen is in the midst of a particularly impressive stretch. Over the past two games, the pen has posted ten straight scoreless innings from the combination of CODY BUCKEL, REED GARRETT, ADAM PARKS, JOSE VALDESPINA, and RYNE SLACK. Over that stretch, the relievers have allowed just five hits and five walks, while striking out six.

STREAKING START:

Thanks to a three-game series sweep over Northwest Arkansas and last night's 12-inning win over Arkansas, the Riders reached 4-0 for just the second time in team history. Frisco opened the 2008 season with five straight victories on the road against Springfield and Arkansas.

aMAZing DEBUT:

Nomar Mazara (MLB Pipeline No. 3 prospect, Riders '14-15) made history in his first start with the Rangers. The 20-year-old outfielder became the youngest player to ever record three hits in his Major League debut. Mazara singled in his first two at-bats before smacking a solo homer off 11-year veteran Jered Weaver.

BRETT TO THE BIGS:

Nomar Mazara wasn't the only former Rider to get called up to the Majors yesterday. The Rangers purchased the contract of Brett Nicholas (Riders '13). After playing in Frisco, Nicholas spent the past two seasons with Round Rock and began 2016 with the Express before being promoted yesterday.

HOW SWEEP IT IS:

After taking all three games from Northwest Arkansas in the opening series, the Riders accomplished something that was done just once last year. Frisco only swept one series in 2015, and it was a rain-shortened two-game road set against Northwest Arkansas on July 10. The last time the Riders swept a three-game series was August 15-17, 2014 at Tulsa.

RANGER DANGER:

Three of the four of the Rangers full-season affiliates are off to 4-0 starts in the 2016 season. Triple-A Round Rock scored three runs in the first two innings and then exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth, en route to a 10-4 victory and series sweep over Iowa. High-A High Desert plated three early runs as well and held on for to defeat Inland Empire 3-2 for the sweep. Single-A Hickory became the first Rangers affiliate to lose this season, falling to Kannapolis 10-3.

FAMILIAR FACES IN FRISCO:

The Riders Opening Day features 17 players who appeared in Frisco last season. Dallas native PRESTON BECK is back home in the Metroplex once again after playing 93 games with the Riders last year. Despite the large number of returning players this year, only five were on the 2015 Opening Day roster.

SKIPPING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS:

JOE MIKULIK has returned for his second season with the RoughRiders. He is the eighth manager in RoughRiders history, and the fourth to return for a second consecutive year. The veteran skipper is in his 18th season as a Minor League manager and has 1,125 all-time wins. 938 of his victories were recorded with the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League (Class A), setting both a team and league record.

TRAVELING AROUND THE HISTORY BOOKS:

Frisco has fared well against Arkansas since beginning Texas League play in 2003. In 162 total meetings between the two teams, the Riders hold a favorable 101-60-1 record (.623 winning percentage) and are 39-15 at Dickey-Stephens Park (opened in 2007).

TOP OF THE CLASS:

The RoughRiders enter the season with six players ranked in either Baseball America or MLBPipeline.com's Rangers Top 30 Prospects. LEWIS BRINSON, the No. 2 prospect in Rangers' farm system according to MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America, returns to Frisco. He appeared in 28 games for the Riders last season, hitting .291 with six home runs and 23 RBI before being promoted to Round Rock in August. Brinson is joined by five other players named in the lists- RYAN CORDELL (No. 15 in MLB, No. 11 in BA), RONALD GUZMAN (23, 29), JOSE LECLERC (25, 21), SAM WOLFF (26, NR), and CONNOR SADZECK (27, 26).

OPPOSING STARTER:

The Travelers put Blayne Weller on the hill today, making his season debut. The right-hander split last year across three levels in his final of three years in the Diamondbacks season. Originally drafted by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2008 MLB draft, the now-26-year-old was released by the Twins after the 2011 season. Following a season and two starts in a second season for the Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League, Weller was signed by the Diamondbacks, where he made it up to Triple-A last year. Weller signed a minor league deal with the Angels prior to this season...Weller has a no-hitter to his credit, striking out 12 in a nine-inning no-hitter on July 10 of 2014 for then-Diamondbacks affiliate South Bend Silver Hawks.

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