Offense explodes, Riders take opener in Amarillo

FRISCO, Texas (September 14, 2021) – The Frisco RoughRiders thumped the Amarillo Sod Poodles 14-6 in the series opener from HODGETOWN on Tuesday night.

Josh Smith started the scoring for the RoughRiders (62-51) in the first inning when he crushed a solo home run to center field, making it 1-0.

In the second, Justin Foscue blasted a solo shot of his own for his first Double-A home run of his career, and Bubba Thompson added a solo home run, his 15th of the year, to push Frisco to a 3-0 lead.

The Sod Poodles (55-59) then returned serve in the third, scoring a pair on RBI singles from Eduardo Diaz and Stone Garrett to make it 3-2 Frisco. Andy Yerzy added on when he hit a two-run home run to vault Amarillo out in front, 4-3, in the fourth.

Frisco flexed again in the fifth when Matt Whatley hit his third home run of the year, a game-tying solo homer, before Smith cracked his second home run of the game, a two-run blast, to make it 6-4 Frisco. It was Smith's third home run of the season and his second multi-home run game of his career, matching the mark on June 5th of this season with High-A Tampa of the Yankees system.

The Riders then piled on in the seventh. Thompson started the scoring in the inning with an RBI double before Blaine Crim plated a run with an RBI fielder's choice. Sam Huff then doubled home two tallies, Justin Foscue drove in a run with a fly ball to center (which was not ruled a sacrifice fly) and Josh Stowers capped the inning with a three-run home run to put Frisco on top 13-4.

Amarillo fought back in the eighth with a solo home run from Stone Garrett and an RBI double by Dominic Miroglio to draw them back to 13-6, but Whatley crushed his second home run of the game in the ninth to extend the lead for good at 14-6. It was Whatley's first career multi-home run game.

Cole Ragans (3-1) earned the win for Frisco, throwing five innings in his start, ceding four runs on six hits while striking out three and walking one.

Brandon Pfaadt (1-1) was handed the loss, allowing six runs over his five frames for Amarillo.

The RoughRiders and Sod Poodles play a doubleheader on Wednesday, September 15th with game one beginning at 5:05 p.m. from HODGETOWN. In game one, LHP Cody Bradford (2-0, 2.27) starts for Frisco against LHP Tommy Henry (4-6, 4.79). In the finale, RHP Noah Bremer (5-3, 4.41) gets the ball for Frisco while Amarillo has yet to announce a starter for game two.

For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 15 seasons (2005-2019). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 160 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including current Rangers players Jose Trevino, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Taylor Hearn. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected]