Wind Surge Steal Christmas In July Win

Amarillo, Texas (July 26, 2024) – Amarillo and Wichita each finished with six hits for the game, but the Wind Surge made the most of theirs. Half of Wichita's hits went for extra bases, including a pair of homers to steal a 4-1 win over Amarillo on Friday night.

Luke Keashall hit a leadoff home run off Billy Corcoran to place the Sod Poodles into their only deficit of the series so far. The Amarillo right-hander then retired the next two batters and then worked around a two-out double to keep it just a one-run Wichita inning. With the Sod Poodles not able to do anything after Jancarlos Cintron was hit by a pitch to start the home half, Corcoran was right back to work in the second. Andy Weber helped to make quick work of the Wind Surge following a leadoff walk. The shortstop made a bare-handed play up the middle for the first out and Corcoran took take of the rest with a pair of fly outs. He worked his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third to send 8-9-1 in the order to the plate. Wichita's Marco Raya worked his third straight hitless inning to start Friday's game.

Corcoran's second walk of the night was componded by an Amarillo error as a pair of two-out singles made it 3-0 Wichita. Caleb Roberts gave Amarillo their first hit of the night with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth but three straight outs followed as Raya was scoreless through four. Corcoran and Raya each faced just three during the fifth.

Kristian Robinson and Jesus Valdez made back-to-back web gems to get Corcoran out of the sixth. Robibson made a sliding play in foul ground down the right-field line and Valdez snared a ball at third on a sliding stop and fired one across the diamond to rob Noah Cardenas of extra bases.

Amarillo's bats began to wake up in the bottom of the inning off Andrew Morris as Raya's night came to an end after going five scoreless while allowing a hit with five strikeouts. Cintron and Roberts hit consecutive singles to get their first runner into scoring position. Weber brought home Cintron with a RBI flare into shallow center field to make it a 3-1 Wind Surge lead after six complete.

John Matthews came in to relieve Corcoran after spinning another quality start. After a leadoff single, the submariner induced three straight outs during his lone inning of relief for the night. Robinson brought the hit total back to even with a two-out knock in the bottom of the seventh but was the only hit of the inning for Amarillo. Jake Rice pitched his way around a leadoff walk to retire the next three. The top three in the Sod Poodles lineup were all that Morris needed to face in the bottom of the eighth during his third inning of relief.

Gerardo Gutierrez replaced Rice for the top of the ninth. Ben Ross extended the Wind Surge lead back to three-runs with a one-out solo shot to left field.

Morris remained on the mound to start the bottom of the ninth for his fourth inning of labor. Ivan Melendez snuck a ball through the hole between first and second base for a one-out single but would be the final hit of the game for the Sod Poodles in the 4-1 loss.

The series will continue on Saturday night. Right-hander and D-backs no. 9-rated prospect Dylan Ray (0-1, 4.62 ERA) will get the start against RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 4.50 ERA). First pitch on is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

HOT CO CORAN: Billy Corcoran worked his eighth quality start on the mound for Amarillo on Friday night. The right-hander went 6.0 IP while allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. His eight quality starts tied Dylan File who got to eight in Thursday night's win for the most on the team this year. The pair of pitchers are now tied for the second-most in single-season history for quality starts along with Brandon Pfaadt (2022) and Slade Cecconi (2022). Lake Bachar set the record during the 2019 season, spinning 10 in the inaugural year. Corcoran began the year as a full-time starter for the first time as a professional and now has 11 quality games including his three with High-A Hillsboro to start the year.

HE JOINED THE NICE LIST: Caleb Roberts collected a pair of hits en route to his 18th multi-hit game of the season. The D-backs' no. 27-rated prospect finished the night 2-for-3. He was the lone Sod Poodle to record a multi-hit game.

SILENT NIGHT: A pair of streaks came to an end in the Sod Poodles loss on Friday night. The four straight wins the team had entering the game remains the longest winning streak for Amarillo this season, something they have done twice now. Jesus Valdez also saw his eight-game hitting streak come to an end after finishing 0-for-4. It also brought an end to his seven straight games with an extra base hit - the longest in the league this year.