Joe Rizzo set the tone for the Arkansas Travelers on Sunday afternoon at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock as they defeated the Frisco RoughRiders 8-4 for Manager Collin Cowgill's 100th career win.
After the Travelers (36-33) allowed one run in the top of the first inning, Rizzo tied the game on the second pitch he saw -- hitting a home run to right field to make it 1-1.
His teammates followed his lead, adding five runs over the next two innings against Frisco (36-33) starter Tim Brennen (1-2), making it 6-1 after three innings as Connor Hoover and Cade Marlowe added home runs
"[Scoring early] definitely gives us the ability to play a little bit looser than in a tight ballgame, because we're up by a little bit, we're swinging the bats, we're feeling good," Rizzo said.
Brennen (1-2) was pulled after the third, having allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and allowing the 3 home runs.
Rizzo entered Sunday's game hitting .277 with 9 home runs and a .974 OPS in June. He added another hit, but struck out twice, finishing 2 for 5.
"[I] just keep reminding myself in the cage and during my work about pitch selection like I've been doing all year," Rizzo said. "[I'm] just really trying to shrink my zone so that the pitches I am swinging at I can do some serious damage to them."
After allowing a run in the first, Arkansas starter Levi Stoudt (5-4) held the RoughRiders scoreless until the fifth inning where he allowed a two-run home run to Kellen Strahm. Stoudt had an 8.20 ERA with 17 runs allowed in 181/3 innings in June before Sunday's start.
Frisco's Trey Hair hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to make it 6-4 before Jack Larsen hit Arkansas' fourth homer the next inning, scoring Rizzo, to set the final margin.
The top four batters for Frisco went 6-for-16 with 3 of the 4 RBI. The problem for the RoughRiders was the bottom five, including former Arkansas Razorback Jax Biggers, combined to go 2 for 20, leaving eight runners on base and going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
The Travs' bullpen was nearly perfect in relief of Stoudt. Four relievers combined to allow three base runners over the final four innings, striking out seven batters. Michael Stryffeler, the Travs' usual closer, came in to shut the door in the ninth with a strikeout.