Sod Poodles Held To Two Runs In Lopsided Loss

Amarillo, Texas - After falling behind early, the Sod Poodles dropped Friday night's tilt against the Frisco RoughRiders 21-2. The RoughRiders jumped out to a seven-run advantage after their first three at-bats.

Right-hander Bryce Jarvis got the start on the hill for Amarillo and surrendered three runs on three hits all after striking out the first batter of the night. Amarillo answered right back, mounting a two-out rally in the bottom of the game's opening frame. After Leandro Cedeño started the rally with a two-out single, another single, and a Blaze Alexander RBI double tacked on the first Amarillo run of the game.

Jarvis retired the side in order in the top of the second but saw some runs come across in the top of the third. Frisco used five runs on the back of three home runs to extend their lead to seven runs. Frisco's Mason Englert, who was making his Double-A debut, struck out the side in the bottom of the third and had racked up six strikeouts through his first three innings to just three hits allowed.

Justin Lewis took over for Jarvis and pitched 1.1 IP, allowing just one hit despite three walks. He struck out three in another scoreless appearance before turning over duties to Garrett Leonard. Leonard lasted just a third of an inning, allowing six hits - three home runs and three doubles - as Frisco pushed their lead to 15-1 and brought out Josh Green from the Amarillo bullpen. The righty saw another four runs pushed across the plate as Frisco used an 11-run top of the 5th to take an 18-run lead over the Sod Poodles.

Andy Yerzy tallied a single in the bottom of the 5th but was left stranded on first. Englert's night came to an end as he went five innings and fanned seven in his Double-A debut en route to collecting his first Double-A win.

Southpaw Andrew Saalfrank was the fifth pitcher used by Amarillo and struck out one while also allowing one hit and run to come across. Roby Enriquez hit a solo shot off the batter's eye for his sixth home run of the season in the home half of the sixth inning. Following Enriquez, Blaze Alexander picked up his third hit but like Yerzy an inning before was left stranded on base. Saalfrank was back on the mound for the seventh and retired the RoughRiders in order for the first time since the top of the second inning with the help of two punchouts. He was back out for the eighth and struck out another, giving him four for the game in his 3.0 IP.

Ti'Quan Forbes made his professional pitching debut for Amarillo in the top of the ninth. The former high-school quarterback was greeted with a leadoff home run on a 47-MPH pitch. He then induced a pop up which he fielded himself behind the mound. A second hit, this time a single was erased thanks to a double play to send the Soddies to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

Amarillo pieced together a pair of hits from Eduard Diaz and Forbes but neither was able to push a run across.

Game five of the series continues on Saturday night with RHP Slade Cecconi (7-5, 7.66 ERA) on the mound against LHP Avery Weems (2-6, 5.29 ERA) for Frisco. The Sod Poodles will look to bounce back and take the series lead and get back within a game of the second-half Texas League South Division crown with just 14 games remaining in the regular season.

Notes:

Blaze Stays Hot: Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 15 rated prospect Blaze Alexander collected another three hits for the Sod Poodles on Friday night. He roped a RBI double to left field, scoring Leandro Cedeno who started the inning with a two-out single. Friday marked the 23rd multi-hit game of the Double-A season for Alexander which now includes six 3-hit games. Other three other Sod Poodles (Jorge Barrosa, Leandro Cedeño, and Eduardo Diaz have more three-hit games this season than Alexander. Since returning from injury in early August, Alexander is hitting .333 (23-for-69) with four doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 20 RBI in 19 games.

Roby Bomb: OF Roby Enriquez launched his sixth home run of the season in the sixth inning of Friday's game. It was the outfielder's first hit of the series and his first home run since August 9 against Springfield. Enriquez entered the game 0-for-6 in the series but went 2-for-4 Friday with the solo home run. It was his 21st multi-hit game.

The Wrong End Of A Big Night: Frisco put up a historic night at the plate, setting new franchise-highs in runs scored (21), runs in a single inning (11), largest margin of victory (19), and most hits in a game by a player (Blaine Crim, 5). The RoughRiders also tied their franchise-high with eight home runs. Their 23 combined hits set a season-high but fell just short of their all-time franchise-high which was 24. The 21 runs tied the most allowed by Amarillo this season, joining August 10 against Springfield. The 11-run fifth was the most allowed by the Sod Poodles in their brief franchise-history and the 23 hits also set a new franchise-high for an opponent.

Better Call Saal: LHP Andrew Saalfrank came in and pitched extremely well for three innings. Making his 10th Double-A appearance, Saalfrank allowed just two hits and one earned run and had four punchouts. His 3.0 IP was by far his most in a single game this season with Amarillo, never going more than 1.0 IP in his previous nine appearances. The three quality innings matched his career-high, and he has now gone 3.0 IP in three appearances over his 43-game professional career.

Out Of Position: Ti'Quan Forbes made his professional pitching debut in the 9th inning. The first pitch he threw was sent back over the right field fence - joining former Sod Poodle player Elvis Peralta who gave up a home run on the first pitch of his professional debut. Forbes became the fourth position player to pitch a game for Amarillo this season. He joined Peralta, Roby Enriquez, and Danny Oriente. Of the four, Oriente fared the best, carrying a 0.00 ERA in two appearances and 1.1 IP. The other three have all allowed a home run in their pitching debuts, Peralta allowed two in his first and only pitching appearance so far in his career. After taking over pitching duties, Forbes came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth and collected a hit, the only player so far this season to collect a hit while technically in the game as the pitcher.