Profar goes 4 for 4 in rout of Nashville

Jurickson Profar had four hits and Brett Nicholas and Preston Beck contributed three apiece as the visiting Round Rock Express defeated the Nashville Sounds 10-0 in a Pacific Coast League game Thursday night.

The Express split the fourgame series.

Profar went 4 for 4 with a double, scoring two runs and driving in another.

Nicholas homered and singled twice, driving in two runs.

Round Rock (38-41) scored in six innings. In the seventh, Beck hit an RBI double and then scored on a walk by Jared Hoying. Beck finished 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Hoying was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Hoying walked three times.

Round Rock starter Clayton Blackburn (2-0) picked up the win, allowing just hits over six scoreless innings. Zach Neal (1-4) took the loss.

Ryan Rua and Will Middlebrooks also drove in two runs for Round Rock.

Tony Barnette pitched two innings in relief for the Express and didn’t allow a hit while striking out two. Sam Wolff did the same in one inning.

The Sounds (38-41) were blanked for the eighth time, and it was Round Rock’s sixth shutout of the year. runs and 20 RBIs.

“You have to accept that you’re going to fail a lot of the time,” said Wilson, who was chosen as the All-Central Texas newcomer of the year by the American-Statesman’s high school sports staff.

“Baseball has taught me to work hard. To get better at it, you have to put your mind to it and not give up.”

Wilson described Akins earning a playoff berth as “a big deal to me. I hope we can do it every year, honestly.”

In another first for Akins baseball, the Eagles posted their inaugural victory against 14-6A rival Bowie. Akins swept the Bulldogs, winning 2-0 on April 7 and 10-5 on April 25.

Wilson’s success wasn’t a surprise to Akins coach Gene Salazar.

“As soon as the 2016 season ended, Dave was driven to become our next starting first baseman,” Salazar said. “He has an inner drive to be better than everyone else on the field.”

“Drive” is a word that crops up often in discussions about Wilson.

Salazar and Wilson credit hard work as the main factor behind the sophomore’s rise. Wilson said “a lot of it was being in the weight room and getting bigger.”

From October through December, Wilson joined his future varsity teammates in daily workouts, increasing his maximum bench press from fewer than 135 pounds to 200. He also hit 315 pounds in the squat, and along the way, he changed from a 5-foot-9, 165-pound freshman to a 5-11, 200-pound sophomore.

“The more I worked out, the stronger I got,” he said. “It made me a little more intimidating and a little more confident” at the plate.

Beyond bulking up, though, Wilson often stayed after practices, Salazar said, to spend “quality time fielding ground balls and hitting in the cages.”

“I work hard partly because everyone around me (on the team) works hard,” said Wilson, who began this week at a summer showcase tournament in Memphis, Tenn., playing for Hill Country Baseball’s 16-yearold squad.

“I think that’s what allowed me — and us — to have such a great season.”

Wilson said he believes the Eagles can soar higher than they did this season. In the wake of his team’s bi-district sweep by Round Rock, Wilson foresees deeper playoff runs in his final two high school seasons.

“I think we can do even better,” he said. “I’m proud to be a part of a program that I think has a really bright future.”