The season got off to a good start on opening night with three of the four full season farm teams getting wins. Day two saw three losses and a rain out. Let’s look closer at what each affiliate has done in the first two days.
Round Rock:
Thursday night, Felipe Paulino threw 93 pitches in 5 innings but shut out the I-Cubs. He allowed three hits, three walks and a hit batter, while fanning six. He was supported by four home runs as the offense exploded for 10 runs in the 10-4 opening night victory. Reggie Abercrombie and Marc Saccamanno both hit 3 run homers. I-Cubs reliever and former Notre Dame reciever got hit so hard he have must wished he was wearing a helmet and pads. J. R. Towles welcomed him with a solo shot to lead off the 6th and Brian Bogusevic tacked on a two run dinger before the inning was over. The only starter not to get a hit was Chris Johnson who still contributed with a sacrifice fly to account for the only run not coming on a home run.
Family and fans: Jake Coolbaugh, 5, looks at a painting of his late father, Mike Coolbaugh, during a ceremony to retire his jersey at the Dell Diamond on Friday. Widow Mandy Coolbaugh, middle, speaks about Mike's love of the stadium, the game and the city of Round Rock. (Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
Friday, the Express retired the uniform of Mike Coolbaugh in an emotional ceremony. The events of the evening put the game in perspective.
The Express lost the game 4-2. Starter Jose Capellan gave up 5 runs in 5 innings. Chris Johnson was hit by a pitch and was replaced by a pinch runner. The express batters struck out 11 times, lead by Reggie Abercrombie’s three K’s.
Corpus Christi:
Brian Esposito is showing some unexpected power. After hitting the walk off homer in the exhibition win over the Astros, he slugged a three run shot that gave the Hooks an insurmountable lead over the Tulsa Drillers en route to the 9-3 victory. Colin Delome also added his first AA homer. Sergio Perez got the opening day win by pitching five solid innings giving up one run.
Friday, the Hooks starter Polin Trinidad gave up two home runs to a guy who hadn’t hit on since last May 1oth and the offense was shut down by a pitcher who hadn’t started a game in almost two years in a 4-2 loss.
Lancaster:
Thursday, the JetHawks stranded 11 base runners in their 9-3 loss. Shane Wolf gave up six hits which included two doubles, a triple and two homers. He left the game in the 5th with the score 4-2. He was relieved by Jason Dominguez, who allowed an inherited base runner to score and then allowed three more runs to score before getting a single out. The 8-2 hole proved too much to climb out as the JetHawks lost 9-3.
Friday, Jose Duran got them back in the hole in a hurry as he surrendered seven runs in just two innings. After five innings, the score was 9-0, then the JetHawks started fighting back. They scored single runs in the 6th and 7th before plating 4 in the 8th. They scored one more in the 9th but weren’t able to get closer than the 9-7 final. Some good news for the JetHawks included the first HR of the season for Jason Castro and two solid innings of relief for C. J. Lo.
Lexington:
Thursday, Lexington got great production from the bottom of the line up. Hitting 8th, Ebert Rosario went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and two RBI. Ninth place hitter, Albert Cartwright went 2 for 4. Jordan Lyles won his first start as a Legend giving up two runs in five innings. The final was 5-4 Legends.
Friday, the Legends were rained out.