Chuck Licata (right) visits with Larry Little, Director of Communications of the Round Rock Express (Thunderstruckphotos.com Photo)

While the 2010 summer rolls on – and many connected with LHISD enjoy a bit of “down time” – parents, administrators and students have several options of entertainment.

One of those options is 30 minutes away in Round Rock at The Dell Diamond.

The Round Rock Express baseball team, the Triple-A affiliate for the Houston Astros, are halfway through their season in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and offer many avenues of entertainment for Liberty Hill residents of all ages.

“There’s so much more than the play between the white lines – which, by the way, is pretty darn good,” stated Larry Little, Director of Communications for the Express. “There’s promotions, give-a-ways, pre-game ceremonies. Fans, and groups of fan, have several options available – the Party Deck, the Party Porch, birthday parties, party suites, and so on.

“The biggest thing is the affordability – a family of four can come enjoy an Express game for one-third the price of a major-league ball game. They can spend three hours driving to Arlington or Houston and see a major-league game or drive 30 minutes and see Triple-A players.”

Little continued, “We work hard to create opportunities for interaction between the kids and the players – that’s very important to us. When you consider the face seven players on the current Express roster have played with the Astros, and we have 12 players who have Major League experience, you know you’re talking about a high quality of baseball for our fans.”

This year’s Express squad has stumbled a bit out of the gate and been streaky at times. The Express, which is currently on a three-day hiatus for the Triple-A All-Star Game, finished the first half with a 38-53 record and sits 12.5 games behind PCL Amercian South division leader Oklahoma City.

Despite the sub-.500 record so far, Round Rock has done it right – the Express have a winning record at The Dell Diamond (25-23), giving the home fans something to cheer loud about.

The team will look to charge back hard when the second half starts this Thursday – in particular, a 13-30 road record and 25 losses in one-run ballgames.

“I’m not a coach or the manager, but let’s face it – our team has been ‘snake-bit’ at times this season,” Little explained. “I feel our team is better than our record shows – but don’t forget, being a Triple-A affiliate, your first priority for the Major League club is player development. That means players come-and-go off your roster, so there’s not a lot of (stability) for the team.

“That can affect your fans’ interest sometimes, because if players rotate on-and-off the roster then the team’s record may suffer. But the Ryan-Sanders Baseball Group has done a tremendous job of building a solid fan base for this team and 11 years later, we’re still considered one of the premier franchises in the country.”
Information on the Express can be found online at www.roundrockexpress.com.