By Cade Haak
TEXARKANA, Texas (August 6, 2024) The Rhinos lost game one of their final homestand of the inaugural season 4-2, but they were able to bounce back in game two with a 9-7 win.
The Texarkana offense was slow to start in the double header, as they only brought home two runs in the first seven-inning game. The first run of the game for the Rhinos was scored in a way that is in no way an aberration, as Neil Jansen hit a solo home run over the left field fence.
Their second run of the game was Gabe Baker, who scored on a wild pitch, but this was too little, too late, as they cut into the lead of Abilene but still ultimately fell short in game one.
Mason Sellers took the loss in game one despite allowing just four runs in his six innings on the mound. This was due to the dominant relief pitch of Dowd for Abilene, as he allowed just one run in five innings.
In game two, the Rhinos caught fire early, scoring five runs in the first. Abilene started the game with two runs in the top half of the first inning, but Texarkana quickly bounced back and took a three-run lead. Rylan Evans scored first when he was driven in on a double by Neil Jansen. Next, it was Gabe Baker who crossed home when Mason Sellers hit a single into center field. Jonathan Rios, in his Rhinos home debut, followed this up with a single that drove in one of his teammates. Rios and Sellers later scored in the inning due to an error by the catcher.
The Rhinos notched two more runs quickly to extend their lead all the way to five runs. They did this when Gabe Baker hit a triple to bring home Rylan Evans, then were able to score when Neil Jansen was caught attempting to steal second.
In the fourth, Abilene scored one run to make a small dent in Texarkana’s lead, but the Rhinos added one run in both the fifth and sixth to extend it. In the fifth, the one run was by Lane Epperson, who scored on a sacrifice fly from Tahj Cunningham. In the sixth, it was Tahj Cunningham earning another RBI, this time when he hit a single into left field to score Neil Jansen.
Abilene added four runs to their total in the seventh but still fell short of the nine-run total they needed to match or surpass to continue the game. Aiden Otano, who started the game for Texarkana, got his first win of the year to make his record 1-0.
