Soddies Launch Three Home Runs In Victory

Amarillo, Texas - The Sod Poodles scored in five separate innings in Thursday night’s 7-4 victory over the Frisco RoughRiders. Blaze Alexander, Andy Yerzy, and Leandro Cedeño each launched a solo home run as Amarillo climbed within a game of the RoughRiders in the Texas League South second-half standings.

Starter Jamison Hill rolled through the first four innings while the Sod Poodles took a 2-0 lead. The former Fresno State Bulldog allowed just one hit over the first four innings in his first Double-A start (second appearance) and racked up two strikeouts with two 1-2-3 innings. Roby Enriquez helped him out defensively with a highlight home run robbery at the right-field fence in the 4th.

Amarillo got on the board first with a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd off the bat of Blaze Alexander. It was the 15th homer of the year for Arizona’s No. 15-rated prospect and his third homer in the last six games.

Blaze. Batter's Eye. Blonde Bombs. >>> Bears. Beets, Battlestar Galactica

🤷‍♂️

End 2 | AMA - 1 | FRI - 0 pic.twitter.com/D3nZqrfw5u

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) September 1, 2022

The Soddies added another in the bottom of the 3rd to make it 2-0. Ti’Quan Forbes led off the inning with a walk and Jorge Barrosa put two runners in scoring position with a one-out double. Roby Enriquez then lofted a deep fly ball to center field that scored Forbes on a sacrifice fly.

Hill allowed a leadoff walk and a double to kick off the top of the 5th, and he was relieved by Jake Rice with two runners in scoring position and two outs. Frisco finally got on the board with an RBI groundout, leaving Hill with a final line of 4.0 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 2 BB, and 2 K in his debut start.

Ti’Quan Forbes ended the top of the 5th with a highlight, unassisted double-play. With a runner on 3rd, he made a diving stop towards the bag on a hard-hit line drive and tagged the base with his glove before the runner could retreat. The snag saved a run to keep Amarillo on top, 2-1.

The Sod Poodles increased their lead with a run in the bottom of the 5th. With Forbes on 1st after a single, Andy Yerzy smoked a line drive into right field. Frisco’s right fielder slipped while tracking the ball, allowing Forbes to round third and score on a bang-bang play at the plate.

Kenny Hernandez took the mound in the 6th and left two runners stranded to maintain the lead. He forced a 4-6-3 double play after a leadoff error and got a full-count strikeout to end the inning after back-to-back singles.

Alexander struck again in the bottom of the 6th as Amarillo added two more runs to make it 5-1. Tristin English doubled with one out and Alexander scored him on an RBI triple that hit halfway up the center-field wall. Juan Centeno plated Alexander on a sacrifice fly.

Hernandez allowed runners to reach the corners in the 7th but turned in another scoreless frame. In the bottom of the inning, Yerzy and Leandro Cedeño both crushed no-doubt home runs to make it 7-1. Yerzy launched a 451-foot bomb to center field to lead off the inning, and Cedeño knocked his Texas-League-leading 30th home run of the season three batters later.

The RoughRiders added a run in the 8th with a solo home run and scored twice in the 9th before Amarillo secured the 7-4 win. Brent Teller allowed the first three runners of the inning to reach before one scored on a double-play, and the second scored on an RBI single. Blake Rogers then entered in the newly-minted save situation and retired the only batter he faced for his 13th save of the year.

Amarillo out-hit Frisco 10-8 and were led by two-hit nights from Alexander, Forbes and Yerzy. The Sod Poodles committed four errors to Frisco's one, but the Amarillo pitching staff held the RoughRiders to just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Leading 2-1 in the series, Amarillo will face Frisco in game four tomorrow at 7:05 PM. RHP Bryce Jarvis (3-4, 7.66 ERA) will face Frisco's RHP Mason Englert, who will be making his Double-A debut.

Notes:

No. 35 Hits No. 30: 1B Leandro Cedeño smoked a 2-0 slider to left field in the 7th inning for his 30th home run of the season. He went 1-for-4 tonight and extended his lead in the Texas League in homers (30) and RBI (92). He has 22 more RBI than the next-closest Texas Leaguer, Tulsa’s Ryan Ward (70). Cedeño is the first player in Double-A to reach 30 HR this season and his RBI total leads the league. Across all levels of the minor leagues, Cedeño is the 9th player to eclipse 30 bombs this season and ranks 14th in RBI.

3⃣0⃣ HR for @learcedeo

My goodness. That one hit the H in HODGETOWN. pic.twitter.com/prFbpIe3ip

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) September 2, 2022

Andy Yerz, eh 🍁

Going to the deepest part of the park is sweeter than a maple glaze from @TimHortons pic.twitter.com/0N2f3ARNvq

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) September 2, 2022

King Of The Hill: RHP Jamison Hill put together an excellent start in his second game as a Sod Poodle. After allowing five earned runs and seven hits in his debut appearance in relief last week against Corpus Christi, he went 4.0 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 2 BB, and 2 K in his first career Double-A start. He picked up two 1-2-3 innings and was relieved with no outs in the 5th and two runners in scoring position. Across three levels of the minors this year, Hill is 7-8 with a 4.61 ERA in 24 games.

Another Blaze Bomb: SS Blaze Alexander launched his 15th home run of the season in the bottom of the 2nd to kick off the scoring for Amarillo. His 423-foot blast kicked off a 2-for-4 night for him, where he also collected a triple and 2 RBI. Arizona’s No. 15 prospect is coming off an outstanding month of August in which he batted .295 with four home runs, 17 RBI, three doubles, and a triple.

Sweet Like Andy: DH Andy Yerzy turned in a 2-for-4 performance with a home run, double and 2 RBI. He crushed a no-doubt home run to center field in the 7th inning that put Amarillo up 6-1, and his 104-MPH, 451-foot blast was his 12th of the season. On the year, the Canadian slugger is batting .214 with 13 doubles and 35 RBI