AMARILLO, Texas (August 2, 2025)—The Wichita Wind Surge scored in eight of nine innings in a 16-11 slugfest victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles at HODGETOWN.
Wichita comes together for 21 hits to snap their four-game losing streak. Ricardo Olivar smacked a three-run blast, his 12th of the season, to dead center in the top of the first inning to give Wichita a 3-0 lead four batters into the ballgame.
After a pair of infield errors, Manuel Pena scored to give Amarillo a run in the bottom of the first. Ben Ross got the run back for the Wind Surge by swatting his seventh homer of the season out to left-center in the top of the second. Following no runs in the bottom of the second, both teams would score in each half of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Hendry Mendez notched his first RBI with Wichita on a sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the third for a 5-1 Wind Surge advantage.
The Sod Poodles later cut that to one on consecutive doubles by Jose Fernandez and Christian Cerda in the home half of the frame.
Ross scored on a wild pitch, and Jose Salas came in on a fielder’s choice for two more Wichita tallies in the top of the fourth. Four runs followed for Amarillo on a two-run single by Gavin Conticello and a line drive two-run shot to the left field corner from Jose Fernandez in the bottom of the fourth. One run came home for each side in the fifth on a Rubel Cespedes RBI single and a solo shot by Pena.
The Wind Surge scored six runs on six hits in the top of the sixth, including a bases-clearing double by Nate Baez and a two-run home run by Ross, his second long ball of the night, to put Wichita ahead 14-9. J.J. D’Orazio pushed an RBI single to right in the home half of the sixth, then each team scored before and after the stretch in the seventh on an Andrew Cossetti long ball and a Gavin Conticello RBI knock.
Walker Jenkins gave the Wind Surge a five-run lead at 16-11 with a solo shot onto the berm in right field in the top of the eighth. Eston Stull and Hunter Hoopes would gather the final six outs to secure the win for Wichita by that score.Darren Bowen earned the win and improved to 3-5 on the year. Across two and two-thirds innings, he gave up three earned runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The Wind Surge record a new season-high in runs scored in a game (16).
- The 27 total runs are the second-most to come across in a game that includes Wichita in 2025 (28, 15-13 Wind Surge win vs. Tulsa, July 6).
- The 21 hits are a new season-high in a game for Wichita this season.
- Ben Ross becomes the seventh Wind Surge player to hit multiple home runs in a game in 2025.
- Wichita snaps a four-game losing streak.
The Wind Surge finish the series with the Amarillo Sod Poodles at HODGETOWN on August 3 at 6:05 PM. Wichita returns to Equity Bank Park for a series with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals beginning August 5. You can listen to Wind Surge games on ESPN Wichita 92.3 FM and windsurge.com or watch online at MiLB.TV and Bally Sports Live. For ticket information, please visit windsurge.com/tickets.