MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland Rockhounds squared off against the Frisco Roughriders Tuesday night in Game 1 of the 2024 Texas League Playoffs at Momentum Bank Ballpark.
It is the first time the Rockhounds made the playoffs since 2019.
The Rockhounds went into the playoffs with a 44-25 record atop of the Texas League South. The Roughriders were in second place in the same division to finish the regular season with a 40-29 record.
Midland Rockhounds take the lead in the 2nd
Rockhounds first-baseman Will Simpson gave the Rockhounds the lead on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 2nd inning with a line drive home run to left center field.
1-0 Midland at the end of the 2nd inning.
Rockhounds keep rolling
In the bottom of the 6th, the Rockhounds had a chance to blow the game wide open.
Brennan Milone reached first base on a fielding error, Simpson singled to center field and second baseman Jack Winkler walked, loading the bases up for third baseman Jordan Groshans.
Groshans was able to bring in Milone on a sacrifice fly to center field, making it 2-0 Rockhounds. Two men were left on base.
Midland's Seth Elledge seals the game with a save
Midland's Seth Elledge came into the top of 9th looking to seal the win for the Rockhounds.
First batter he faced was Josh Hatcher. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Hatcher hit a grounder to Winkler at second base and Winkler threw over to Simpson for the first out of the inning.
Second batter Elledge faced was Cody Freeman. Freeman had no luck. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, he got caught looking for strike three. Two down in the top of 9th.
The Roughriders last hope to keep something alive was Abimelec Ortiz. In a 3-1 count, Ortiz swung and flied out to left field and Junior Perez made the catch.
Final score 2-0 Rockhounds.
Game 2 of the three-game series is Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:05 p.m. CST in Frisco.