Stovall's Single Gives Isotopes 4-3 Triumph Over Chihuahuas

Albuquerque, NM – In baseball, it sometimes takes just one swing to erase bad memories of a slump. This was surely the case for Hunter Stovall on Friday evening.

With a runner on second base and two outs in a tied game in the ninth inning, Stovall stepped to the plate looking to end a string of 11 consecutive hitless at-bats. He smacked a line-drive single to left, plating Connor Kaiser with the game-winning run as Albuquerque defeated El Paso 4-3 in front of 8,321 energized fans.

Kaiser and Alan Trejo both homered in the contest, and starting pitcher Karl Kauffmanndelivered six strong innings of three-run ball.

Topes Scope: - Stovall delivered the third walk-off victory for the Isotopes in 2023. The others came April 21 vs. OKC (Doyle homer) and May 6 vs. Sugar Land (Montes single).

- Albuquerque earned a rare one-run triumph, they are now 5-13 in such situations. They had lost 12 of their previous 13 one-run games before tonight.

- The Isotopes have won consecutive games for just the fifth time since April 19. They are now 6-3 against El Paso this season.

- Kaiser snapped a 28 at-bat stretch without a hit (spanning Triple-A and the majors) dating back to June 15 at Tacoma. Tonight was his first multi-hit contest since June 6 vs. Sugar Land, also the day he hit his most recent home run.

- Trejo extended his hitting streak to 11 games. He is slashing .381/.480/.595 with four doubles, a triple and homer during the span. Tonight’s homer was Trejo’s 100th extra-base hit in 168 games wearing an Isotopes uniform.

- The Isotopes finished with six hits, the 17th time this season they have recorded six or fewer. Tonight was their first victory in such an occurrence.

- After re-signing with the Rockies organization on a Minor League deal earlier in the day, Wynton Bernard made his return to Albuquerque tonight. He entered as a pinch-runner in the seventh inning and was picked off before striking out in his lone plate appearance.

- Kauffmann turned in the ninth quality start of the season for an Isotope and first since Ben Braymer on June 16 at Tacoma. Kauffmann has three quality starts, two against the Chihuahuas.

- Tommy Doyle recorded the win in relief by working a scoreless ninth inning. He did not allow an earned run across 9.0 frames spanning nine appearances in June. Both tallies allowed by Doyle this month were of the unearned variety, resulting from the automatic runner placed on second base in extra innings.

- Riley Pint delivered a scoreless inning for the second consecutive game. This was the first time Pint has pitched on back-to-back days since May 24-25, 2019 for Single-A Asheville.

- El Paso hitters have struck out just 10 total times in the first three games of this series. Tonight marked the 10th time Albuquerque pitching has registered four or fewer punchouts in a contest.

- Tonight was the third time both starting pitchers have registered a quality start. Both previous occurrences came against Tacoma: May 17 (Nick Davila, Jeff Criswell) and June 16 (Darren McCaughan, Ben Braymer).

- The Chihuahuas recorded only one extra-base hit, the 11th time this season the Isotopes have limited the opposition to zero or one. It most recently took place last Sunday against Reno.

- El Paso’s Jay Groome became the 11th pitcher to strike out seven or more batters in a game against Albuquerque, and the first since Kyle Hart on June 18 at Tacoma (seven).

- The Isotopes turned multiple double plays in a game for the 19th time this season, and first time since June 23 vs. Reno.

On Deck: Saturday promises to be one of the most festive atmospheres in Isotopes Park history. Lowrider Bobbleheads will be given to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of Pepsi. It is a Mariachis game, with gates opening early at 5:00 PM. Berm Seating is on sale and fans are encouraged to arrive early. First pitch between Albuquerque and El Paso is slated for 6:35 PM.