FRISCO, TX – The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, are pleased to announce the renewal of a partnership with FOX Sports Southwest to televise 11 RoughRiders games during the club’s 15th Anniversary Season.
The television schedule begins Opening Day, Thursday, April 5, on FOX Sports Southwest Plus with a 7 p.m. air time as the Riders host the Tulsa Drillers. The remaining 10 games are scheduled for FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports GO.
Texas Rangers pre and postgame host Jared Sandler returns to handle play-by-play duties for the 2018 season. Former Texas Rangers David Murphy and Mike Bacsik are also back and will split time as color analysts. Melanie Newman rounds out the broadcast team in her first season as the dugout reporter.
Members of the Rangers front office will join the broadcasts throughout the season to highlight the strength and success of the club’s minor league system.
Sandler, in his second season with the Riders, has begun his fourth season as the full-time pre and postgame host for the Texas Rangers Radio Network, and fills in on radio play-by-play for selected Rangers games. In addition to his duties with the Rangers, Sandler fulfills various on-air responsibilities with the team’s flagship, 105.3 The FAN, joining CBS Radio in March 2015. He is also the television voice of the Texas Legends of the NBA’s G League.
Murphy, back for a second season with the RoughRiders, spent 10 years (2006-15) in the Majors, including a stint as a fan favorite with the Rangers from 2007-13. The Houston native and Baylor product played in two World Series with the Rangers (2010 and ’11) and was drafted by Boston in 2003. In addition to the Red Sox and Rangers, Murphy played for Cleveland and the Los Angeles Angels.
Bacsik returns for third season as an analyst on RoughRiders games. He is also an analyst for FOX Sports Southwest on select college baseball games, fill-in host on “Rangers Live” and a co-host on KRLD 105.3 The Fan’s afternoon drive show “G-Bag Nation.” He played for Cleveland, the New York Mets, Texas and Washington from 2001-2007.
Newman is also beginning her first season as a member of the RoughRiders radio broadcast team and is one of just three women in Minor League Baseball handling play-by-play duties. In addition, she works for Major
League Baseball Advanced Media, the ACC Network as a reporter for Olympic sports, and as a host for Troy University athletics.
FOX Sports Southwest will air the following RoughRiders games this season:
| DATE | TIME (CST) | OPPONENT | NETWORK |
| April 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Tulsa (LA Dodgers) | FOX Sports Southwest Plus |
| April 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Corpus Christi (Houston) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| June 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Midland (Oakland) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| June 14 | 7:00 p.m. | San Antonio (San Diego) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| June 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Springfield (St. Louis) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| July 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Tulsa (LA Dodgers) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| July 12 | 7:00 p.m. | San Antonio (San Diego) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| July 19 | 7:00 p.m. | San Antonio (San Diego) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| July 22 | 7:00 p.m. | San Antonio (San Diego) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| August 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Corpus Christi (Houston) | FOX Sports Southwest |
| August 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Northwest Arkansas (Kansas City) | FOX Sports Southwest |
Every RoughRiders game, as well as the monthly Riders Insider, on FOX Sports Southwest or FOX Sports Southwest Plus will be available on FOX Sports GO, the live streaming platform that showcases all of FOX Sports’ events and studio programming through pay-TV providers.
FOX Sports GO is available on FOXSportsGO.com or on the free FOX Sports GO app, which can be downloaded from iTunes, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store. Streaming is also now available on several connected devices, including Apple TV, Android TV, FireTV and stick, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox One and YouTube TV.
The full list of the RoughRiders television broadcast schedule and information can be found at www.RidersBaseball.com/TV.
