While the Round Rock Express started their 2022 season off on the wrong foot with a 13-1 home loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas on Tuesday (April 5), the ball club is just happy to enjoy normalcy after two years of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Austin FOX affiliate KTBC reported that the Express filled a roster that's full of familiar faces, including outfielder Leodys Taveras.
Taveras told KTBC that the team is full of talent.
"I'm happy with that, because we're going to enjoy the game," Taveras, who alternated between Round and the Texas Rangers last year, said, according to the station. "I know we're going to get good results. And that's fun. It's going to be fun."
According to KTBC, Taveras returns to the Express following a season in which he smashed 17 homeruns for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate.
Express manager Matt Hagen likes the variety his ball club shows.
"It's going to be a good mix," Hagen said, the station reported. "We've got a good mix of young talented guys. We got some guys that have pretty good careers behind them already. And I'm excited to see what they do. I think it's going to be a good mix of talent and experience."
The Express said on their website that starting southpaw pitcher Jake Latz took a loss after surrendering two earned runs on five El Paso swats.
According to the team, Latz fanned five Chihuahuas through four innings on the mound.
Round Rock's lone point came courtesy of a Bubba Thompson homer that also happened to be the outfielder's first Triple-A hit, per the release.
The Express' season opener occurred shortly after a line of severe weather that crossed Central Texas spawned a tornado that struck Round Rock, which is 19 miles north of Austin.
In an effort to help the victims, the team, in conjunction with the Round Rock Community Foundation, hosted a fundraiser at the game.
According to the Express, $5 from each ticket purchased with the code "RRStrong" on the team's website will be donated to the Round Rock Cares fund.