Express Drop Opener Against Saints, 11-4

ST. PAUL, Minn. - BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

St. Paul 2B Payton Eeles drew a walk to start the bottom of the first and LF Kyler Fedko followed with a double. CF DaShawn Keirsey Jr.’s base hit allowed Eeles to score and the Saints took a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the second, the Express put two on with walks from LF Trevor Hauver and SS Richie Martin. C Omar Narvaez poked a two-out single into left field and Hauver scored from second, cutting the deficit to one.

The Saints plated four runs in the bottom of the frame. Eeles tallied a RBI single and Fedko hit a ground-rule RBI double on the first pitch of his at-bat. A pitch later, Keirsey Jr. got aboard with a single and a throwing error from 1B Abimelec Ortiz allowed another run to score as St. Paul led 6-1.

Round Rock CF Michael Helman led off the top of the third with a solo homer that made it 6-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, St. Paul RF Carson McCusker drove in a run with his sacrifice fly and 1B Aaron Sabato followed with a two-run home run, extending their advantage to 9-2.

Fedko and McCusker both recorded solo homers in the sixth and seventh, respectively. The Saints held an 11-2 edge after seven complete.

The E-Train plated a pair of runs in the ninth on a two-run double from 3B Alan Trejo bringing the score to a final of 11-4.

E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:

ALAN AT THE PLATE: Round Rock 3B Alan Trejo went 1-for-5 in the series opener with a two-run double in the ninth inning. Trejo has a hit in 11 of 14 games this month, batting .273 (15-55) with three doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI and five runs scored.

HELMAN BACK IN ST. PAUL: Express CF Michael Helman returned to St. Paul after appearing in 195 games for the previous three years with the Saints. He went 1-for-5 with a homer, RBI and two runs scored.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday, August 20 at St. Paul FIRST PITCH: 7:07 p.m. CT BALLPARK: CHS Field

For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and X!