Frisco spent the opening two innings pitching uphill, and Wichita made every free pass hurt. Aidan Curry walked the first two batters he faced, Zach Bryant walked his first, and the Wind Surge turned those openings into a four-run cushion before the RoughRiders had put a runner on base.
That early hole defined a 5-1 Frisco loss Saturday at Equity Bank Park, where the RoughRiders managed four hits and did not score until Arturo Disla homered in the ninth.
Curry nearly worked around the two walks in the first. Brandon Winokur popped out on the infield fly rule, and Garrett Spain’s groundout moved the runners without bringing either home. Kyle DeBarge spoiled the escape, lining a two-out single into short left. Dylan Dreiling came in on the ball, but Houston scored from third and Diaw followed him home as the throw carried toward the mound.
Curry took the loss after allowing two earned runs and two walks in one inning.
The same problem resurfaced when Bryant entered for the second. Poncho Ruiz drew a leadoff walk, and singles by Graham Brown and Quinn McDaniel loaded the bases. Marek Houston drove a sharp line drive into left to score Ruiz, and Khadim Diaw’s sacrifice fly brought home Brown for a 4-0 Wichita lead.
Bryant allowed two earned runs and one walk while striking out one in his inning.
Frisco’s lineup never mounted the response Sebastian Walcott had described before the game. Walcott, out of the lineup Saturday, spoke about carrying the club’s recent production into the postseason.
“It felt pretty good. You know, the previous night we put up one run on a few hits, so we definitely wanted to come in yesterday and, you know, just attack the start early and we did that.”
— Sebastian Walcott, RoughRiders Designated Hitter
This time, Wichita starter Adrian Bohorquez controlled the early innings. He held Frisco scoreless for five, allowing one walk and striking out four. Disla supplied the RoughRiders’ first hit with a fourth-inning single, but Bohorquez retired the next two batters.
Wichita added its final run against D.J. McCarty in the fifth. DeBarge walked and moved to third on Jaime Ferrer’s single and Ruiz’s flyout. Brown followed with a ground ball back through the middle that clipped McCarty and kicked high into the air, giving DeBarge time to score.
McCarty limited the damage to one earned run over 3 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking three. Leandro Lopez and Josh Trentadue combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, but by then Frisco’s offense had little room left.
The RoughRiders produced their best contact in the middle innings without turning it into a rally. Gleider Figuereo drove a two-out fly to deep left-center in the sixth, sending Spain to the warning track before the ball struck near the fence for a double. Disla popped out to strand him.
Malcolm Moore ripped another double down the first-base line with one out in the seventh. Sam Armstrong retired Marcus Lee Sang and Paxton Kling from there, preserving the shutout on his way to three scoreless relief innings.
Walcott had framed the final regular-season games as preparation for what follows.
“I feel pretty good. I feel pretty confident at the plate. Things have been going good so far. You know, trying to just take it into playoffs, make sure that the boys and myself are ready for the playoffs.”
— Sebastian Walcott, RoughRiders Designated Hitter
Disla finally broke through against Luis Quiñones with one out in the ninth. He crushed a line drive down the left-field line and watched it clear the fence, his 18th Double-A homer and his second in as many games.
It kept Frisco from being shut out, but it could not undo the first two innings. Disla finished 2-for-4 with the RoughRiders’ only RBI; Figuereo and Moore accounted for their other two hits, both doubles.