Marcus Lee Sang put one final stamp on a career year Sunday, driving the RoughRiders out of an early hole and repeatedly giving them the breathing room they needed. His four-hit, five-RBI afternoon carried Frisco to a 10-8 victory over the Wichita Wind Surge in the regular-season finale at Equity Bank Park.
Lee Sang went 4-for-5 with a home run and a double. His biggest work came in a six-run third inning, when Frisco turned a 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead against Preston Johnson.
He opened the inning by lifting his 16th homer high and deep down the left-field line. Sebastian Walcott and Ian Moller later reached on either side of an out before Gleider Figuereo towered a three-run shot to left-center, his second homer, for Frisco’s first lead.
The RoughRiders were not finished. Yeison Morrobel singled, Paxton Kling and Max Wagner walked, and Lee Sang came up again with the bases loaded. He sent a ground ball through the right side to score Morrobel and Kling, then was tagged out trying to advance as the play continued.
Ten batters, two Lee Sang hits and six runs had reshaped the afternoon.
Wichita kept applying pressure, scoring once in the fifth and again in the sixth to pull within 6-4. Thomas Ireland allowed three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings, with two strikeouts and two walks. Joey Danielson earned the win and improved to 2-2.
The answer came immediately from Arturo Disla. He attacked Cory Lewis’ first pitch in the seventh and lined his 19th homer over the wall in left, extending his home-run streak to three games and restoring a three-run cushion.
Morrobel singled later in the inning, and Wagner doubled with two outs to put both runners in scoring position. Lee Sang split the left-center gap, the ball reaching the wall as Morrobel and Wagner scored. The double completed his five-RBI day and pushed Frisco’s lead to 9-4.
Those runs proved essential. Figuereo added a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Wichita continued to chip away and entered the ninth down 10-6. With two outs, Marek Houston singled, Garrett Spain doubled him home and Brandon Winokur followed with an RBI single. J’Briell Easley finally secured the last out with the tying run at the plate.
Wichita finished with 17 hits, three more than Frisco, but the RoughRiders’ concentrated bursts — six runs in the third and three in the seventh — were enough to withstand the late push. Winokur led the Wind Surge by going 4-for-6 with a double, three RBIs and two runs.
The finale also offered a glimpse of what Walcott believes this lineup can bring into the postseason. Before the game, the RoughRiders shortstop spoke confidently about the club around him.
“But, you know, I think it’s a different team, and I think you have a really good shot of winning this thing.”
— Sebastian Walcott, RoughRiders Shortstop
Walcott scored during the decisive third inning, while Disla went 2-for-5 and Dreiling finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run. Lee Sang supplied the loudest swings, but the lineup kept turning those swings into crooked numbers.
For Walcott, the regular-season ending merely cleared the stage for the games he has been awaiting.
“The playoff environment. I’m looking forward. This is my second playoffs. The first one I was with the Riders with in 2024, but this is my first one I’ve actually played with the team I actually contribute with the team, so I’m excited, you know, I’m excited to win. I think that’s the main goal for everybody here to win and, you know, to dominate.”
— Sebastian Walcott, RoughRiders Shortstop