Frisco, TX – The Frisco RoughRiders claimed their second straight extra-innings win against the Springfield Cardinals, taking Friday’s contest, 6-5, in 11 innings before 8,714 fans at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
Cardinals INF Tommy Edman singled on Friday night to extend his current on-base streak to 32 games, breaking the Springfield Cardinals all-time record previously held by Aaron Luna, who had a 31-game on-base streak from 7/1-9/2/10.
The Cardinals (1-7, 34-44) erased an early one-run deficit in the top of the fourth inning when 1B John Nogowski drilled a two-run home run off the roof of a pavilion beyond the left field fence, lifting the Cardinals into the 2-1 lead.
After Frisco (5-3, 29-49) tied it with an RBI double from SS Nick Noonan in the fifth, Springfield again seized the lead with a three-run rally in the sixth. C Andrew Knizner led off with a single, before racing all the way home on a go-ahead RBI double to straight-away center field from LF Victor Roache. One out later with Roache at third base, DH Chris Chinea launched a two-run home run onto the left field grass berm, his second homer in as many days and 10th of the year, stretching the Springfield lead to 5-2.
RHP Mike O’Reilly capped his quality start with a scoreless bottom of the sixth, before LHP Ian McKinney and RHP Austin Sexton navigated through the seventh with the lead still at three runs.
However, Frisco rattled off a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. With two outs and the bases empty, DH Juremi Profar and 2B Luis Mendez extended the inning with consecutive singles. 3B Michael De Leon then followed with an RBI base hit, scoring Profar and leading to RHP Yeison Medina entering the game. With two on and two down, Noonan sent a game-tying, two-run double off the right field fence, bringing the ‘Riders back even at 5-5.
The Cardinals escaped trouble with a double play in the bottom of the ninth before posting a scoreless 10th, but Frisco dealt the final blow in the 11th. With De Leon starting the inning as the automatic runner at second base, Noonan laid down a sacrifice bunt that LHP Colton Thomson (L, 0-2) fielded but threw late to third, enabling runners to be safe at the corners. After an intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs, RF Preston Beck delivered the game-winning RBI single to right field, scoring De Leon and lifting the RoughRiders to the 6-5 walk-off win in 11 innings.
