Rangers End Playoff Run with Loss to ‘Stros

  After losing to the Royals in the winner bracket final, the Rangers were forced to play again, this time in the loser bracket final. However, the same result ensued…a 15-3 loss to the Dayton Astros.

      The Astros sent Mike Leach to the hill and he was effective against the Rangers, holding the home team to 8 hits. The Astros jumped on the board in the first, keyed by a bases-clearing triple from Adam Stewart. The Rangers cut the lead to 3-1 on an RBI double from Jonmarc Lippincott. Two scoreless innings went by before both teams scored twice in the 4^th inning. Rangers first baseman Joe Staten doubled in two runs in the fourth to cut the score to 5-3. But that was the only scare the Rangers put into the Astros. After Staten’s double in the fourth, Leach retired 17 of the final 20 batters, including the last 10 in a row.

      Offensive performances of note: Clint Wolf 2-for-4 2B; Jonmarc Lippincott 2-for-2 RBI 2B, BB; Joe Staten 1-for-3 2B 2RBI.