Tacoma rally falls short as Round Rock escapes 9-7 win

Tacoma’s ninth-inning push put the tying and winning runs on base, but the comeback came too late and Round Rock escaped Cheney Stadium with a 9-7 win on June 26. The Rainiers spent most of the night chasing the game, and in a park where offense can snowball fast, the bigger problem was what happened before the rally ever started.

Connor Joe kept Tacoma alive with a season-high four RBIs, and Brock Rodden added a solo home run in the fifth. Even so, the Rainiers never fully buried Round Rock, leaving seven runners on base while finishing with 10 hits and four walks. When the final inning arrived, Tacoma had one last chance to flip the result with traffic on the bases, but the last hit never came.

Round Rock did enough damage early to stay ahead. Jose Herrera and Jonah Bride both homered for the Express, and Herrera’s blast pushed Round Rock back in front in the second inning after Tacoma had briefly tied it. The Express finished with 12 hits and eight walks, a telling edge in a game where both clubs kept reaching base and the margin came down to which lineup cashed in more often.

The game also turned testy late, with three ejections in the ninth inning: Tacoma third baseman Patrick Wisdom, Tacoma coach Jacob Nottingham and Round Rock center fielder Gilberto Celestino. By then, the score had already tilted toward the visitors, and the ninth-inning chaos only underscored how much pressure Tacoma had created without ever fully converting it into a comeback.

The loss left Round Rock up 3-1 in the series and pulled both clubs to 34-45 overall. Tacoma had opened the set with a 12-1 win on June 24, then dropped an 8-2 decision on June 25 before the 9-7 finish on June 26. The Rainiers showed they could threaten late, but in the Pacific Coast League that only counts when the last swing actually lands.