RoughRiders drop slugfest against Sod Poodles, 10-7

AMARILLO, Texas (September 12, 2024) – The Frisco RoughRiders were defeated by the Amarillo Sod Poodles 10-7 on Thursday evening from HODGETOWN.

Box Score

Frisco (37-29, 81-54) started the scoring against Amarillo (28-37, 58-76) starter Joe Elbis in the top of the first inning when Sebastian Walcott plated Alejandro Osuna and Maximo Acosta with a single that gave the Riders a 2-0 lead.

The RoughRiders tacked on two more in the second inning, using an RBI double by Keyber Rodriguez and an RBI single by Acosta to make it a 4-0 game.

In the bottom of the second inning, Amarillo used solo homers by Ivan Melendez and Kristian Robinson against Mitch Bratt to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Frisco added a run in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly from Aaron Zavala, pushing the lead to 5-2.

A Josh Hatcher solo homer in the fourth made it a 6-2 game and kept the Riders scoring streak alive.

Neyfy Castillo cut the deficit to three with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Amarillo added two more in the sixth inning on an RBI triple by Gavin Conticello and an error, making it a 6-5 game.

Bratt finished after 6.0 innings, surrendering five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out three.

Back-to-back doubles in the top of the seventh from Luis Mieses and Rodriguez gave the Riders some insurance at 7-5.

In the home half of the seventh inning the Sod Poodles evened the game against Ryan Lobus on a two-run homer by Gino Groover.

Tied at 7-7 in the bottom of eighth inning, Gavin Collyer allowed the first three batters to reach. Robinson put Amarillo ahead with an RBI double and later scored on a two-run double by Castillo that pushed the Sod Poodles in front 10-7.

Offensively, Walcott led the way with three hits as the Riders picked up multi-hit games from Acosta, Abimelec Ortiz, Mieses and Rodriguez.

The RoughRiders continue a six-game road series against the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate) at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, September 13th. The Riders are expected to turn to LHP Kohl Drake (2-1, 3.63) against RHP Joe Elbis (0-3, 3.70) for the Sod Poodles.

For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the 2022 Texas League champions. In 2023, the team celebrated its 20th anniversary and has consistently finished in the top five among all Double-A franchises in attendance yearly. In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, Bullpen Bar, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 200 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball including current Rangers Josh Jung, Evan Carter and Leody Taveras. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].