Sod Poodles Fall To Drillers In Back-And-Forth Series Finale

Sunday, September 12, 2021 vs. Tulsa [LAD]

Tulsa Drillers (60-54) | Amarillo Sod Poodles (55-58)

The Sod Poodles fell 8-7 to the Tulsa Drillers in the series finale Sunday afternoon at HODGETOWN.

After leading through the first four frames, the Drillers tied things up in the fifth. The Drillers jumped ahead 7-4 in the seventh but Amarillo battled right back in the bottom half with three runs of their own to tie it again. The Drillers scratched a solo run in the ninth to take the final lead of the afternoon to make it an 8-7 game.

Soddies starter and D-backs No. 5 rated prospect Ryne Nelson took a no-decision after a five-inning performance with four runs allowed on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Reliever Tyler Jones added two innings of relief with two hits allowed and three unearned runs while Matt Brill (0 H, 3 SO) and Blake Rogers (2 H, 1 R) added single frames of work.

The Soddies struck first in the matinee with three runs out of the gate. Ben DeLuzio doubled to start the half and a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly ball by Ryder Jones manufactured the first run of the contest. Eduardo Diaz extended the frame with a two-out single and Dominic Fletcher added a two-run home run to make it a 3-0 Amarillo lead.

The Drillers rebounded in the second after Ryan Noda led off with a triple to right-center field. With one out, Kody Hoese cleared the bases with a two-run home run to bring Tulsa within a run. But, in the bottom half, the Soddies picked up a run on Luis Basabe's leadoff home run to extend the home team's lead to a pair.

In the fifth, the Drillers got to Nelson with four singles to manufacture two runs. Hamlet Marte and Jacob Amaya began the frame with consecutive base hits and Michael Busch singled with one out to plate one. After a line out, Justin Yurchak singled to right field to tie the game at 4-4.

Tulsa broke the bind in the seventh after Busch reached with one out on a fielding error. Miguel Vargas singled in the next at-bat to put runners on the corners and Yurchak made it a 5-4 score on his sacrifice fly ball. Ryan Noda added to the frame with a two-run home run to extend out to a 7-4 late lead.

In the bottom half, the Soddies battled with three comeback runs to tie the game at seven apiece. Amarillo quickly loaded the bases with no outs after Basabe and Dominic Miroglio walked and Jancarlos Cintron singled. DeLuzio plated the first run on his fielder's choice groundout. Then, Jones flared an opposite-field line drive to left field that was just out of the reach of a stumbling Noda to make it a 7-7 contest.

In the ninth, two consecutive singles by Tulsa put runners on the corners. Noda chopped a slow grounder to third baseman Jones to bring the go-ahead run across.

The Soddies couldn't recover in the bottom half, going down in order and falling in the finale.

The Sod Poodles begin their final series of the 2021 regular season at HODGETOWN on Tuesday and will take on the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Notes:

So Fletch: Dominic Fletcher became the second Soddies player to record a triple in two straight games during the 2021 campaign and the fifth player in franchise history. The first to do it was Jake McCarthy, who met the feat twice in June - 6/8-9 & 6/17-18. Since September 1, Fletcher is batting .400 over 10 games with two doubles, two triples, four home runs, nine RBI, and a .419 OBP.

*Homer Kings: *After six home runs on Saturday night and another two on Sunday afternoon, the Amarillo Sod Poodles have now hit 145 home runs during the 2021 season to mark the most homers in a single season in franchise history, topping the 139 by the 2019 Texas League Champions.

*Homer Happy: *The Soddies and Drillers broke the Amarillo franchise record for home runs in a series with 34. On Saturday night, the teams tied a season-high with nine home runs combined. The franchise record for home runs in a game by two teams was set two years to the day at 11 combined with the same teams facing off on September 11, 2019 in game two of the Texas League Championship series between Amarillo (2 HRs) and Tulsa (Tulsa franchise-record 9 HRs).

Consecutive Homers: Dominic Fletcher knocked his fourth home run in as many games on Sunday and became the ninth Sod Poodles player in 2021 to hit home runs in back-to-back games. Fellow Dominic (Canzone) knocked home runs in consecutive games on 9/10 and 9/11 at HODGETOWN.

Five In A Frame: The Soddies five home runs hit in the third inning Saturday night marked yet another rare feat for a Minor League Baseball team. Per SABR, at least one minor league team has hit six home runs in a single inning: the Kansas City Blues on June 29, 1952. In MLB, the major league record for homers in an inning is five which was last done by the Nationals in July 2017.

*Series Win: *The Soddies notched their sixth series win with a fourth victory against Tulsa Saturday night. Overall, the Soddies are 6-6-7 (W-L-S) on the season with one more regular-season series to go in 2021 beginning Tuesday against Frisco.