STWF Sports | NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | May 29, 2026 — The Frisco RoughRiders bounced back in impressive fashion Friday night, salvaging a split of a doubleheader against the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Understanding the Frisco RoughRiders’ Strengths

After dropping the opener 4-0 behind a dominant outing from Arkansas left-hander Kade Anderson, Frisco responded with one of its most complete performances of the season in the nightcap, cruising to an 8-0 victory behind strong pitching and timely power hitting.

The split moved the RoughRiders to 25-21 on the season while Arkansas advanced to 29-19.

Game one belonged largely to the Travelers’ pitching staff.

The two clubs battled through three scoreless innings before Arkansas finally broke through in the fourth inning when Lazaro Montes launched a solo home run off Frisco starter Winston Santos. The blast gave the Travelers a 1-0 lead and shifted momentum in a game dominated by pitching.

Despite the loss, Santos delivered one of his sharpest outings of the season.

The right-hander worked 5.2 innings, allowing three runs while striking out a season-high eight batters. He mixed pitches effectively throughout the outing and consistently generated swings and misses, though a lack of offensive support ultimately left him with his second loss of the year.

Arkansas added insurance in the sixth inning after Santos exited the game. Caleb Cali delivered the biggest hit of the contest, ripping a three-run double against reliever Eric Loomis to extend the Travelers’ lead to 4-0.

That was more than enough run support for Anderson, who completely controlled Frisco’s lineup.

The Arkansas left-hander improved to 4-0 after tossing 5.1 shutout innings while allowing just two hits. Anderson struck out nine batters and did not issue a walk in one of the most dominant pitching performances the RoughRiders have faced this season.

Arkansas closer Charlie Beilenson handled the final 1.2 innings to secure his sixth save of the year and complete the shutout.

While offense was difficult to find in game one, the RoughRiders wasted little time turning things around in the second game of the doubleheader.

Frisco erupted for four runs in the second inning and never looked back.

Catcher Ian Moller ignited the rally with a solo home run before the Riders capitalized on defensive mistakes from Arkansas. Marcus Lee Sang later crossed the plate on an error, and top prospect Dylan Dreiling punctuated the inning with a two-run homer that pushed the advantage to 4-0.

The offensive support was more than enough for Frisco starter Dalton Pence, who delivered arguably his best outing at the Double-A level.

Pence attacked the strike zone early and consistently kept Arkansas hitters off balance throughout the night. The right-hander worked six shutout innings, allowing only three hits while striking out six and walking just one batter.

The outing marked only the second time in Pence’s professional career that he completed six innings, and it earned him his first Double-A victory.

Frisco added breathing room in the sixth inning with another offensive burst.

Max Wagner contributed an RBI single before Arkansas committed another costly defensive error that plated an additional run. Frainyer Chavez then capped the scoring with a towering two-run home run that stretched the lead to 8-0.

The home run was Chavez’s seventh of the season, tying him with Dreiling for one of the team leads in long balls.

Dreiling’s continued offensive surge has become one of the biggest storylines for Frisco in recent weeks. The former Tennessee standout continues to flash the power that made him one of the organization’s top young prospects, while Chavez has quietly emerged as one of the club’s most productive run producers.

Arturo Disla also enjoyed a productive day at the plate despite the split. The infielder finished 3-for-3 in the opener and continued to provide consistent quality at-bats during the doubleheader.

Friday’s twin bill also marked a rare scheduling occurrence for the franchise.

The games followed back-to-back rainouts on May 27 and May 28, the first time the RoughRiders experienced consecutive postponements on those exact dates since 2014.

With the series now even, Frisco will look to build momentum Saturday evening when the Riders return to Dickey-Stephens Park for game four of the five-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT.