Corpus Christi Hooks Defeat Frisco RoughRiders 6-4 - AA, Texas League

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - FRISCO, Texas – Mitch Einertson, Tommy Manzella and Richie Paz delivered run-scoring hits with two out in the fifth to carry Corpus Christi to a 6-4 win at Frisco Sunday afternoon at Dr Pepper Ballpark. The victory moves the Hooks to 14-9 in the first half, now 2½ games behind the RoughRiders for first place in the Texas League South.
 
Trailing 1-0, the Hooks exploded for five runs on five hits in the fifth. Billy Hart opened the rally with a one-out single and stole second. After a fly ball out to right by Chris Johnson, Einertson shot a single to center to plate Hart for a 1-1 score. A single by Jose Lopez and a walk issued to Drew Sutton loaded the bases for Manzella.
 
Hitless in his first two trips, Manzella looped a 1-2 offering into shallow center to get Lopez and Sutton home for a 3-1 Corpus Christi lead. The single extended Manzella’s league-best hitting streak to 16 games.
 
ADVERTISEMENT Paz then drilled the next pitch from starter Michael Schlact (0-1) into right for a double and two more runs to give the Hooks a commanding 5-1 edge.
 
The home team pulled to within a run with three markers in the seventh, capped by John Mayberry’s two-run homer to left. German Melendez, though, ended the rally when he got Ben Harrison to look at a third strike with two men aboard.
 
The Hooks added an insurance run in the ninth on a single to right by Paz. Corpus Christi’s designated hitter finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with three RBI’s.
 
Starter Bud Norris (3-0) put forth another strong performance, holding the RoughRiders to a run on four hits and two walks over five innings. For the third time this season, Norris fanned eight in his five innings on the hill. He leads the league with 35 strikeouts.
 
Sammy Gervacio tossed two frames of shutout relief to notch his first save. Gervacio retired six of the seven batters he faced and struck out two. Emerson Frostad reached in the ninth with a two-out single to right.
 
The Hooks, winners of two out of three in Frisco, look to wrap up the series Monday night at 7:05. Chance Douglass (1-2) gets the call for Corpus Christi while lefty Michael Ballard (2-0) handles the chore for Frisco.

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