Texarkana Twins open home series with rout
Tuesday night action yields 11-3 win over Baton Rouge
Brock Booker pitched three 2-3 innings of hitless relief to earn the win, and the Texarkana Twins rattled off nine consecutive runs to open a home series against Baton Rouge.
Booker had five strikeouts and no walks during his relief stint on the mound, helping the Twins rout the Rougaroo, 11-3, on Tuesday at George Dobson Field.
That marked a change in Texarkana’s recent games, where the Twins surrendered 26 runs in three games, including giving up 10 runs twice.
The Twins banged out 12 hits, including a solo home run by Lee Thomas, who finished with four RBI.
Thomas gave the Twins the lead in the bottom of the first, when the tying run scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch on Thomas’ sacrifice fly to deep right field.
Hudson Hopkins grounded out to short to bring in a third run for Texarkana. Tim Lichty led off the inning with a single to left, Shea Gutierrez lined a hit to center, and Ryne Randle’s bunt went for a single to load the bags.
Thomas hammered a pitch over the wall in right with one down in the third to extend the lead to 4-1 with his solo homer.
Reese Durand singled to start the Twins’ fourth inning and he stole second. Matt Kissamis’ single to right plated Durand, and a wild pitch brought home
Jake Walsh, who had walked prior to Kissamis’ hit.
Two more walks loaded the bases in the fourth, and Thomas picked up his third RBI on a groundout to third. A wild pitch scored the fourth run of the inning for Texarkana, which led 8-1 after four complete.
The Rougaroo got to Twins starter Mike McElmeel for three hits in the first inning, Logan Lejeune lining an RBI single to center between doubles by Johnny Johnson and Brayden Morrow.
McElmeel, making his first start and usually a reliever, lasted three 1-3 innings, giving up just one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Four Texarkana pitchers combined to strike out 14 Rougaroo batters.
Drew Bianco lined a 2-run single to center for Baton Rouge in the eighth inning.
The Twins answered in the bottom of the frame with Lichty drilling a stand-up double to the left field corner with one out. He scored on Randle’s stand-up double to left-center, and Randle raced home on a Thomas single to right.
Baton Rouge 100 000 020 — 3 8 1 Texarkana 301 410 02x — 11 12 0 Jackson Cullen, Ashton Davis (4), Reid Batey (6) and Lukas Polanco. Mike McElmeel, Brock Booker (4), Brandon Morse (8), Ram Maldenado (9) and Jake Walsh. WP-Booker. LP-Cullen. HR: TXK-Lee Thomas, 3rd, none on.