STWF Sports | FRISCO, Texas June 30, 2026 — Keith Jones II picked the perfect moment to deliver one of the biggest swings of the night.
Behind a go-ahead home run from Jones in the eighth inning and a dominant strikeout performance from starter Aidan Curry, the Frisco RoughRiders opened their six-game series against the Midland RockHounds with a 7-6 win Tuesday night at Riders Field.
The victory gave Frisco a strong response after Sunday’s difficult series finale in Amarillo and moved the RoughRiders to 43-32 overall and 4-3 in the second half. Midland dropped to 37-38 overall and 5-2 in the second half.
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Frisco’s offense wasted little time creating momentum, and once again, Frainyer Chavez was right in the middle of it. The red-hot infielder opened the scoring in the third inning by launching a leadoff home run off Midland starter Kenya Huggins, giving the RoughRiders a 1-0 lead and adding another highlight to one of the strongest offensive stretches in the Texas League.
The swing also extended Chavez’s hitting streak to 11 games and pushed him into the team lead with 12 home runs on the season.
Midland answered in the fourth inning against Curry. Devin Taylor connected for a home run to tie the game, and Clark Elliott later added an RBI single to give the RockHounds a 2-1 advantage.
From there, Curry settled in and delivered one of the best outings by a Frisco pitcher this season. The right-hander attacked the strike zone, missed bats consistently and worked into the sixth inning while keeping the RockHounds from building on their lead. Curry finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts across 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
His 11 strikeouts marked the most by a RoughRiders pitcher since Emiliano Teodo reached that total on June 16, 2024. It was also just the fifth time since 2016 that a Frisco pitcher recorded 11 or more strikeouts in a single start.
Curry left with Frisco trailing by a run, but the RoughRiders’ offense quickly changed the game in the bottom of the sixth.
Frisco put together its best inning of the night with five runs on five consecutive hits, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead. Ian Moller, Jones and Chavez each drove in runs during the rally, giving Curry a chance to avoid the loss and putting the RoughRiders in position to control the late innings.
The advantage did not last long.
Midland responded in the top of the seventh, stringing together a rally of its own to tie the game at 6-6. Taylor added another run-scoring swing, while Leo De Vries also drove in a run as the RockHounds erased Frisco’s four-run cushion and sent the game into the late innings even.
That set the stage for Jones.
After Jonathan Brand worked a clean eighth inning and faced the minimum to keep the game tied, Jones stepped in against JJ Goss in the bottom half. With one swing, he changed the night, driving a solo home run over the center-field wall to put Frisco back in front 7-6.
It was the final lead change of a back-and-forth opener and another big moment for Jones against Midland. His three RBIs were his most in a game since May 17, when he drove in four runs against the RockHounds.
Zach Bryant handled the ninth inning from there, closing the door with a scoreless frame to earn his second save of the season. Brand picked up the win, improving to 3-2, while Goss took the loss for Midland and fell to 2-1.
For Frisco, the win showcased several pieces of its identity. Curry gave the club swing-and-miss dominance on the mound. Chavez continued to set the tone offensively. The lineup produced another big inning. And Jones delivered the decisive late-game power swing.
The RoughRiders now hold a 1-0 series lead and will look to build on it Wednesday night at Riders Field. Frisco is scheduled to send left-hander Blake Townsend to the mound against Midland left-hander Jamie Arnold. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday is also Wine Wednesday presented by Landon Winery, featuring half-priced wine through the seventh inning at Riders Field.
