photo: Leonardo Bernal and Nathan Church (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Glendale Desert Dogs cruised to an 8-1 win over the first-place Surprise Saguaros on Thursday. Cardinals catcher Leonardo Bernal reached base four times and plated two. Nathan Church and Thomas Saggese were on base twice each.
Results from the Arizona Fall League game played on Thursday, November 7.
Glendale Desert Dogs 8 at Surprise Saguaros 1
Three St. Louis Cardinals participated in the Glendale Desert Dogs (14-12) 8-1 win over the first-place Surprise Saguaros (16-8) on Thursday at Surprise Stadium.
Starting catcher Leonardo Bernal went 3-for-4 plus a walk and two RBI from the sixth spot. Left fielder Nathan Church was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored while hitting second. Thomas Saggese was third in the lineup as the designated hitter, going 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.
Bernal started with an RBI single past the second baseman in the first, struck out in the third, hit another RBI single to the same spot to drive in Saggese in the fifth, walked in the seventh, and singled in the ninth.
Bernal committed a throwing error from behind the dish while allowing the Saguaros to steal three times and throwing out one.
In the first, Church singled for the first Glendale hit of the game and later came home on an RBI single. He hit an RBI single in the second but was later caught stealing. Church flied out in the fourth, struck out in the sixth, and grounded out in the eighth.
Church had an outfield assist in the fourth when a relay caught a runner attempting to advance to third.
Saggese flied out in the first, walked in the second and walked in the fifth and later came home on Bernal’s RBI single. He grounded out in the seventh and popped out in the eighth to the first baseman.
The Desert Dogs will be off until Monday due to the Arizona Fall League All-Star break. It will be the final week of league play.
With Thursday’s win, Glendale is tied for second place, three games behind Surprise. The top three teams in the league reach the playoffs, to be held next Friday and Saturday. However, four teams are within two games of second place, so the participants could easily change based on the outcome of the final four games, to be played this coming Monday through Thursday.
The Home Run Derby, with no Cardinals participating, will be this Friday night. The Fall Stars Game will be held on Saturday. Rosters will be announced on Friday. Sunday will be a league-wide off day.
Monday’s game: at Mesa Solar Sox (13-13), TBD vs. TBD 4:30 CT.
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Ben Kinealy can be reached at bkinealy@mail.bradley.edu.
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