FRISCO, Texas (June 24, 2025) — Marcus Smith crushed his first Double-A home run, a three-run blast in the seventh inning, to help propel the Frisco RoughRiders to a 5-1 victory over the Tulsa Drillers on a steamy Tuesday afternoon at Riders Field.

The win kicks off the second half of the Texas League season with a bang for the RoughRiders (1-0, 39-30), who closed out the first half with the league’s second-best record.

Ben Anderson (4-4) was masterful in his second quality start of the year, tossing six shutout innings on 85 pitches. The right-hander scattered just four hits, struck out two, and leaned on soft contact and timely defense to extend his recent dominance. Since May 9, Anderson owns a 2.04 ERA—fifth-best among all Texas League pitchers in that span.

Frisco took an early lead in the second inning when Frainyer Chavez lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Keyber Rodriguez and putting the Riders on top 1-0. Chavez would finish with a multi-hit day, continuing his scorching stretch at the plate—he’s now reached base in 20 of his last 22 games across Double-A and Triple-A.

The Riders broke it open in the seventh. After Ian Moller and Sebastian Walcott reached base, Smith stepped to the plate and launched a towering three-run homer over the right field wall to extend the lead to 5-0. The long ball was Smith’s first at the Double-A level and served as a key insurance shot in a low-scoring affair.

Tulsa (0-1, 26-44) got on the board in the eighth with a soft RBI single from catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, but it was too little, too late.

Ryan Lobus closed the door with a scoreless ninth, locking in Frisco’s fifth one-run defensive outing in their last eight games. He and Larson Kindreich combined for three innings of scoreless relief behind Anderson.

Notable Performances:

• Sebastian Walcott (2-for-4) tied a career high with three stolen bases, becoming just the second teenager in the Texas League since 2005 to swipe three bags in a single game—joining former Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus.

• Chavez, Rodriguez, Walcott, and Moller all posted multi-hit games as the Riders compiled 10 total hits.

• Tulsa starter Patrick Copen (0-1) was tagged with the loss despite a solid five-inning effort in which he allowed just one run and struck out four.

Up Next:
The RoughRiders continue their series with Tulsa on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT at Riders Field.