MIDLAND, Texas (Interstat) — Zane Taylor struck out eight over four hitless innings, and the Midland RockHounds used a three-run first inning and a three-run fifth to beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 6-1 on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at Security Bank Ballpark.

Taylor, the top star for Midland, did not allow a hit or an earned run while striking out eight. He gave way to a bullpen that protected the lead. Jay Dill earned the win after pitching two innings, allowing one hit, one earned run and striking out two. Jared Johnson, Diego Barrera and A.J. Causey each followed with a scoreless inning. Causey allowed one hit. James Hicks took the loss for Corpus Christi. Dill improved to 6-1, while Hicks fell to 5-12.

Midland jumped on Hicks in the first. Casey Yamauchi singled on a soft popup to shortstop. Jared Sprague-Lott doubled to left field to score Yamauchi. After Ali Camarillo flew out and Euribiel Angeles grounded out, Bobby Boser singled to center to score Sprague-Lott. Cameron Leary then singled to center to bring home Boser. Pedro Pineda flew out to end the inning.

Taylor kept Corpus Christi quiet through four innings. The Hooks managed only two hits in the game and grounded into two double plays. One double play ended the second inning after Will Bush walked. Tyler Whitaker grounded from second baseman Casey Yamauchi to shortstop Ali Camarillo to first baseman Jared Sprague-Lott. The other double play came in the ninth and finished the game after Hector Salas singled.

Midland threatened again in the second when CJ Rodriguez singled and Sprague-Lott added another single, but Camarillo lined out sharply to third baseman Zach Daudet. In the third, Boser singled and moved to third on Leary’s groundout, but Pineda flew out to center. Hicks then retired the side in order in the fourth, getting Clark Elliott on a flyout, Rodriguez on a groundout and Yamauchi on a groundout.

Corpus Christi got its only run in the fifth when Will Bush homered on a fly ball to right-center field. It was Bush’s 13th home run of the season. He finished 1 for 2 with one RBI. The Hooks could not build on the swing.

Midland answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Euribiel Angeles singled on a sharp line drive to left, and Bobby Boser walked. Cameron Leary then doubled to right field, scoring Angeles and Boser. Pedro Pineda followed with a single to third base that scored Leary, extending the lead to 6-1.

Corpus Christi’s bullpen settled in after that. Alejandro Torres worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. Max Martin followed with 1 1/3 innings, yielding one hit and no earned runs while fanning one. Midland’s relievers closed it down. Dill, Johnson, Barrera and Causey combined for five innings after Taylor, with only Dill permitting a run.

In the sixth, Chase Call and Alberto Hernandez struck out before Hector Salas walked and Jack Moss lined out softly to third. Corpus Christi went down in order in the seventh and eighth. In the ninth, Hernandez popped out, Salas singled and Moss grounded into a double play from Yamauchi to Camarillo to Sprague-Lott to end the game.

Leary finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs for Midland. Boser went 2 for 2 with one RBI. Sprague-Lott doubled and scored, while Yamauchi and Pineda also contributed to Midland’s 11-hit attack. Midland’s pitchers combined to hold Corpus Christi to one run on two hits.

The game took 2 hours, 24 minutes and drew 4,904 fans. Midland improved to 65-71, while Corpus Christi dropped to 62-74. The Hooks had won the previous night’s game 5-2 and had taken three of the first four games in the series before Saturday. The teams will meet again Sunday at Security Bank Ballpark.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Midland 5, Corpus Christi 3. Interstat’s ELO system had given Midland a 55 percent probability to win before the game.