Kyle Higashioka kept finding his way into the middle of everything Thursday night, from an early single to the swing that changed the game and, finally, the hit that put it well out of Tacoma’s reach.
His two-run homer in the fifth erased Round Rock’s second deficit of the night, and the Express piled on from there in a 9-3 win at Dell Diamond. Higashioka finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs as Round Rock collected 12 hits and scored eight runs over its final four turns at bat.
Tacoma had taken a 2-1 lead behind a pair of solo homers off Dalton Pence. Connor Joe opened the scoring in the second, driving a ball over the wall in left, before Cam Cauley answered an inning later with a no-doubt shot to left-center. It was Cauley’s 15th homer of the season and briefly pulled the Express even.
Patrick Wisdom restored Tacoma’s advantage in the fourth with his 35th homer, a towering fly to left that Aaron Zavala initially had trouble locating before tracking it to the wall. The ball barely escaped, but the lead did not survive Tacoma starter Jhonathan Díaz’s next inning.
After Díaz retired the first two batters in the fifth, John Taylor drew a walk. Higashioka followed with a line drive over the left-field wall, his second homer of the season, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Round Rock lead.
The Express never gave it back.
Higashioka’s homer supplied the decisive blow, but the sixth inning was what created separation. Keyber Rodriguez walked and Frainyer Chavez singled before Tacoma shortstop Leo Rivas committed a fielding error on Logan O’Hoppe’s fielder’s choice, allowing Rodriguez to score. Cooper Johnson followed with a ground-ball single to right that brought home Chavez, and Taylor later singled to center to score O’Hoppe for a 6-2 advantage.
That rally unfolded against Josh Simpson, who was charged with the first two runs before Robinson Ortiz entered to face Higashioka with two outs.
Round Rock continued pulling away without needing another big swing. Jonah Bride singled in the seventh and scored on Chavez’s double to left. The Express added two more in the eighth after Johnson doubled and Cauley singled: Taylor brought Johnson home with a sacrifice fly, and Higashioka lined an RBI single to right to score Cauley.
Chavez reached three times, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run, while Taylor drove in two and scored once. Cauley added a second hit to his tying homer.
Pence allowed two earned runs over four innings, striking out five and walking four. Joe Ross took over in the fifth and immediately quieted Tacoma’s lineup, striking out all three batters he faced that inning. He earned the win with four strikeouts over 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Ross, John King and Josh Sborz combined to cover four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Tacoma’s only late run came in the eighth against Emiliano Teodo, after Andy Ibáñez doubled and eventually scored.
By then, Higashioka and the Express had already transformed a close game. Tacoma managed five hits and struck out 13 times, while Round Rock committed no errors and kept adding to the lead until its designated hitter supplied the final word.