Sod Poodles Even Series With 4-2 Win Over Surge

Wichita, KS – The Amarillo Sod Poodles evened their series against the Wichita Wind Surge with a 4-2 win on Wednesday night at Riverfront Stadium. A productive night at the plate for D-backs' No. 23 rated prospect Blaze Alexander and shutdown pitching lifted Soddies to win.

Alexander got the scoring started with a two-out RBI single in the top of the first inning. After seeing Tristin English single and Leandro Cedeño walk, both were in danger of being left stranded following a strikeout by Roby Enriquez. Alexander striped the 1-1 pitch down the first-base line, scoring English easily before Blaze was caught trying to stretch his single into a double. The one-run lead was quickly evaporated in the bottom of the first.

Right-hander Bryce Jarvis made his first start since June 21. The former first-rounder surrendered consecutive singles ahead of a walk to load the bases. The tying run came around to score but the go-ahead run was thrown out at the plate thanks to the relay team of English, Ti'Quan Forbes, and Juan Centeno. The Wind Surge threat came to an end on Jarvis' first strikeout of the night. Wichita loaded the bases again in the bottom of the second with another two singles and a walk issued by Jarvis. The Arizona Diamondbacks No. 6 rated prospect once again used a line out and strikeout to end the threat and keep the game tied headed to the third inning.

Sod Poodles outfielder Roby Enriquez continued to swing a hot bat after hitting .385 a week ago. The Puerto Rico native picked up RBI No. 21 on the year, scoring English once again with two outs as Amarillo regained a one-run advantage. Like the Soddies in the half-inning before, Wichita used a two-out mini-rally to tie the game. A single, stolen base, passed ball, and double tied the game at 2-2.

The score remained that way into the top of the sixth thanks so some great relief work from Kenny Hernandez. The lefty was the first man out of the Amarillo bullpen on Wednesday night. It was his first relief appearance for the Sod Poodles since April 13 in Tulsa. He responded to his new role by spinning 3.1 scoreless innings where he surrendered just four hits and struck out four without a walk issued. It was just his second scoreless appearance this year donning an Amarillo uniform.

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Bye Bye @BAlexander52

The @Dbacks No. 23 rated prospect uncorks on his 8th of the year. pic.twitter.com/riQ79vr8Tx

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 7, 2022

The 2-2 deadlock was broken in the top of the sixth inning. Enriquez smacked his seventh double and was able to trot home when Alexander belted his eighth home run of the year to give the Soddies a two-run lead.

Right-hander Jeff Bain allowed one hit to the five batters he faced over his inning and two-thirds pitched, adding to his scoreless appearance sheet this season. It was his 14th in 25 appearances in 2022 and 13th in his last 20 games. Bain picked up a strikeout as well before turning the ball over to Blake Rogers for the 9th inning.

Rogers mowed down his first two batters faced, striking out both before inducing a lazy pop fly in foul territory to end the game. Rogers got through the bottom of the ninth in just 11 pitches, recording his 6th save of the year in as many opportunities.

Now tied at a game a piece, the Sod Poodles and Wind Surge continue their series with game three on Thursday night. Left-hander Blake Walston will toe the rubber for the Sod Poodles. The D-backs' top-rated pitching prospect will make his first start since June 24 after missing his last schedule while on the IL. First pitch is once again scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Wichita.

Notes:

Set the Place A Blaze: INF Blaze Alexander had a productive day at the plate, driving in three runs in a 2-for-4 day. He hit his eighth home run of the year, and first since June 3 versus Midland. His two-run home run against the Wind Surge was just his second 2-run home run with his other six all being solo home runs. It was the 14th multi-hit game of his season and just the second mulit-RBI game, tying his season-high with 3 RBI. His last 3 RBI game came on May 8, also against Midland.

Wong ReWief: Left-handed pitcher Kenny Hernandez tossed 3.1 IP on Wednesday night, tying the Sod Poodles season-high for IP by a reliever. Hernandez tied Josh Green who also went 3.1 IP back on June 15 in San Antonio. Hernandez got the win, his first this year in Double-A and ended a run of seven consecutive games without a win for Hernandez who picked up his last Double-A win on September 15, 2021 with five scoreless innings in game two of the team's doubleheader with Frisco.

Mr. Rogers Saverhood: Blake Rogers converted on his sixth save in as many opportunities for the Sod Poodles this season. The right-hander pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, needing 10 pitches to strike out the first two batters he faced. Since being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 17, 2021, only Miguel Aguilar (20) has more saves in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system than Rogers (17). His save on Wednesday night marked career-save No. 30.

Front Loaded: The Sod Poodles 2-3-4-5 hitters combined to go 6-for-14 with a home run, two doubles, and four RBI. The rest of the team went 2-for-20 with a double from Ti'Quan Forbes.