Strykers hit but don't score enough in road loss

KILGORE, Texas – Hitting wasn’t the problem Tuesday night for the Woodlands Strykers – scoring runs was.

In their first road game of the 2014 season, the Strykers outhit hosting East Texas, 10-4. But the Pump Jacks still came out victorious by a 4-2 count in the first of a two-game series at Driller Park. The two teams get together again at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday.

The Strykers left 12 runners on base in falling to 0-4 on the young season while East Texas (2-2) made the most of just four hits in its 2014 home opener.

The Strykers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kevin Santana tripled with two outs, scoring Garrett Lozano, who singled.

East Texas tied the game with a run in the second inning and took the lead for good, 3-1, with a two-run third.

Santana and Greg Belton made it a one-run game in the fifth inning with back-to-back two-out doubles, but East Texas matched that run in the bottom half of the inning.

Santana raised his batting average to .444, going 3-for-5 on Tuesday, and ranks fourth in the league. Lozano added two hits to raise his average to .333, which ranks 11th in the league.

Strykers’ lead-off hitter Mark Whitehead also had two hits on Tuesday and four other Woodlands players added one hit apiece.

The Strykers got good pitching from starter Kael Jones, who went 2 1/3 innings, striking out four, while allowing just two earned runs. Jack Finnegan threw 3 2/3 solid innings of relief. He struck out five while yielding only two hits and one run.

Trent Rosipal finished up, going 1 2/3 innings, striking out three and giving up just one hit and no runs.