TEXAS LEAGUE PLAYOFFS : RoughRiders tie series with Travs
Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Frisco RoughRiders remembered to bring their defense to Dickey-Stephens Park on Wednesday.
Frisco evened the Texas League championship series with a 4-3 victory over the Arkansas Travelers before 1, 983. In their last home game of the year the Travelers saw their six-game winning streak end. The series, knotted at 1-1, moves to Frisco on Friday.
It was Arkansas’ first playoff loss after sweeping Northwest Arkansas in the first round.
The RoughRiders got a strong outing from right-handed starter and Texas Rangers prospect Neftali Feliz and a big defensive play by right fielder Dustin Majewski that helped hold the Travs to one run in what could have been a bigger sixth inning.
“We played better defense tonight, that’s for sure,” Frisco Manager Scott Little said, looking back on two errors the team committed in Tuesday’s loss. “[Feliz ] pitched well and the bullpen guys did a good job and we scratched across enough.”
The Travelers, who had an early lead on Hank Conger’s two-run single but fell behind 4-2, tried to rally against Feliz with four consecutive singles in the sixth. Second baseman Nate Sutton singled to center to open the inning but Majewski threw him out, with Thomas Berkery making the tag, as Sutton tried to take third on Ortiz’s single to right.
“It was close. It could have gone either way,” Sutton said. “It was my decision. It was hit to the hole there. I didn’t think he had any chance to throw me out.”
Ortiz scored when Stavisky followed with a single up the middle, and Corey Smith hit a single to right before Hank Conger hit into a force play and Ben Johnson flied out.
“If he’s safe we tie the game up because a base hit after that scores two,” Travelers Manager Bobby Magallanes said of Sutton’s out at third. “But we’re aggressive. You’ve got to give [Majewski ] credit. He made a good throw.”
Feliz is the Texas Rangers’ No. 5 prospect (Baseball America ) who came to the organization in the trade that sent first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves last year.
Feliz reportedly topped 100 mph with his fastball in the RoughRiders’ first-round sweep of San Antonio and was clocked at 96-98 mph on Wednesday. He went six innings and gave way to relievers Alfredo Conzalez, who went two scoreless innings, and Andrew Laughter, who pitched the ninth for his first postseason save. Texas League playoffs All times Central WEDNESDAY’S GAME Frisco 4, Arkansas 3
Series tied 1-1 FRIDAY’S GAME Arkansas at Frisco, 7 p. m.
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