SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Amarillo Sod Poodles posted consecutive five-run frames in the fifth and sixth innings to overpower the Springfield Cardinals – playing as the Ozarks Snipe Hunters for the first time – by the score of 13-4 at Route 66 Stadium on Thursday, June 11.

All 13 runs the Cardinals allowed were earned, and the pitching staff surrendered 17 hits and six walks on the night. This performance comes just one day after the staff allowed 14 earned runs, 19 hits and six walks in a 14-4 loss to Amarillo.

Even more upsetting, the bullpen gave up all but two of the runs in just four and two-thirds innings of work. Before the night concluded, nine Sod Poodles had tallied hits.

Although the arms had their troubles in this contest, the offense did not provide much support.

Springfield did not get a hit with a runner in scoring position until catcher Rainiel Rodriguez launched his second home run of the game over the left field wall with shortstop Brody Moore on second in the seventh inning. The Cardinals concluded the contest going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

With the exception of Rodriguez’s solo blast that opened the scoring in the first frame, Moore provided the only other RBI for the Cardinals by driving in utility player Miguel Villarroel on a fielder’s choice in the second to break the 1-1 tie and give Springfield its last lead of the affair.

Switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje started the game for Springfield and left the mound with the lead. He walked just one batter and struck out six across 4 1/3 innings.

MLB.com’s No. 4 prospect in the St. Louis organization faced just one hitter – his penultimate batter – while pitching left-handed. He punched that man out to finish off a stretch of eight consecutive hitters retired – the longest streak for any arm all evening.

The six-foot switch-pitcher earned back-to-back strikeouts after he loaded the bases by allowing three straight singles to kick off the second inning. He nearly evaded the jam completely but then issued his lone walk of the outing to the opposing leadoff man.

The only other run charged to Cijntje came across when reliever Hunter Hayes – the game’s losing pitcher – inherited the starter’s last baserunner. Hayes allowed him to score on a home run the righty reliever served up to the first batter he faced. Amarillo never relinquished the lead from that point forward.

First baseman Trey Paige, infielder Dakota Harris, Rodriguez and Villarroel each logged two hits. Paige, Moore and Harris all tallied doubles, and center fielder Miguel Ugueto hit the contest’s only triple.

Rodriguez, MLB.com’s No. 2 St. Louis Cardinals prospect, hit two flyouts to the wall in addition to the two long balls he produced. The performance gave the 19-year-old backstop, who has been referred to by some as “Dominican Mike Piazza,” both his first multi-home run game at the Double-A level and his first two home runs at Route 66 Stadium.

Left fielder Travis Honeyman exited the game in the top of the fifth after he dove headlong for a line drive off the bat of Amarillo center fielder Druw Jones (son of 2026 MLB Hall of Fame inductee Andruw Jones).

Honeyman failed to make the catch and proceeded to force his face into the outfield grass while on his knees in pain as Jones motored to second for the fourth Amarillo extra-base hit in a five-batter sequence.

The 2023 third-round pick already required rotator cuff and labrum surgery before the Cardinals drafted him out of Boston College in addition to two hamstring injuries he suffered in 2024.

Right fielder Jose Cordoba also got shaken up in the contest after he collided with Harris on a pop-up in the third frame. However, he remained in the game for the rest of the night.

The back half of the six-game series begins tomorrow, Friday, June 12, at Route 66 Stadium with Amarillo currently leading the set two games to one. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.