Springfield, MO – The Springfield Cardinals cruised past the Frisco RoughRiders in the series opener, 7-3, before the sellout crowd of 7,080 fans at Hammons Field on Friday night.
The RoughRiders (25-28, 54-69) got out to a quick start with three runs in the top of the first against RHP Corey Baker (W, 5-5). With one on and two down, C Alex Burg pulled an RBI double to left field to crack the scoreless tie. 2B Drew Robinson quickly followed with a two-run home run, opening the Frisco advantage to 3-0.
The Cardinals (27-27, 57-67), though, began the comeback right away in the bottom of the first against LHP Frank Lopez (L, 3-7). With one away, LF Mike O’Neill reached with a single, before SS Aledmys Diaz launched his 10th home run of the year with a two-run blast that cut the Cardinals deficit to 3-2.
After Baker posted a scoreless top of the second, Springfield seized the lead in the bottom of the second. 2B Bruce Caldwell opened the inning with a single, before Lopez induced a fly out for the frame’s first out. However, RF David Washington belted a two-run blast over the right field fence, his 14th home run of the year, propelling Springfield ahead by one run. C Alberto Rosario followed Washington’s homer with a double, before racing home on an RBI single from CF Charlie Tilson to extend the Cardinals new advantage to 5-3.
Baker again followed the run support with a quick frame, dealing a 1-2-3 top of the third before the Cardinals went back to work in the bottom of the inning. Diaz started the stanza with a walk, before taking second on a groundout to third. A wild pitch moved Diaz to third base, followed by an RBI double ripped inside the left field line by DH Michael Ohlman, plating Diaz to make it 6-3.
Springfield stretched the lead further in the bottom of the fourth, scoring at least one run in each of the game’s first four frames. Facing RHP Jefri Hernandez, Tilson smacked a one-out single to reach safely, before swiping his league-leading 42nd base to get to second. A groundout to short moved Tilson to third, before Diaz struck again with an RBI single through the left side, scoring Tilson for the 7-3 Springfield lead.
Baker came back out for the top of the fifth and finished his outing with a three-up-three-down frame, allowing just the three early runs on five total hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
The relief corps then picked up right where Baker left off, with RHP Kurt Heyer keeping the RoughRiders at bay through his three scoreless innings. RHP Ronnie Shaban then slammed the door with a scoreless top of the ninth, closing the 7-3 win for the Cardinals.
