MIDLAND The Midland Rockhounds were on the hunt for their 50th win of the season.
Their opponent, the San Antonio Missions, had other plans.
Taking the lead early, the Missions then manufactured a run late in the contest for a 4-3 victory in Texas League play Saturday at Momentum Bank Ballpark.
Entering the night, the Rockhounds sat atop of the South Division standings for the second half of the season with an 18-7 record.
San Antonio got off to a fast start in the first inning, scoring two runs on a double to left field by Webster Rivas to take the quick lead and finished the opening at-bat with a three-run cushion.
Midland chipped away at the deficit, finally finding a way to tie the game in the fifth inning with a solo home run by Logan Davidson.
The tie ballgame quickly perished as the Missions’ Ripken Reyes laced a line drive double into the left-field gap, driving in Wyatt Ulrich with the eventual game-winning run in the seventh.
San Antonio would go on to hold the lead against the Rockhounds’ final three innings.
Midland starter David Leal would make it through six innings, giving up three earned runs, with two strikeouts.
Michael Danielak (3-1) relieved Leal in the seventh, finishing out the game.
He struck out two and allowed one earned run to lose his first game of the season.
Danielak’s effort, however, gives the RockHounds a fresh bullpen going into the final game of the series.
Manager Bobby Crosby, despite the loss, is still pleased with his teams efforts this year.
“We are playing good baseball; we won the first three and lost the last two by one run with a chance to win. We’re going to keep doing exactly what we are doing,” Crosby said.
He’s also very comfortable with were his team sits since the All-Star break.
“Guys are playing hard, they are playing to win. Everyone here has goals for the next level, but they’ve come together for the second half because they want to win together,” Crosby added.
With 45 games left in the regular season, the Rockhounds have set themselves up nicely for a run at the playoffs and look to start that run when the close out the homestand at 2 p.m. Sunday.
>> Follow Ryan Scheide on Twitter at @R_Scheide1
