The Amarillo Sod Poodles won the Texas League South Division’s First Half title on Monday night at Arvest Ballpark, beating the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 8-2 to secure a spot in the Texas League postseason in September.
Coming into the final day of the first half on Monday, the Soddies trailed the Midland RockHounds by a half game in the standings. Amarillo needed a win against the Naturals and a Springfield Cardinals’ win over Midland to win the half. Both results transpired, as Springfield secured a 3-0 win over Midland.
After trailing 2-0 at the end of the third inning, Amarillo’s offense erupted in the fourth against Northwest Arkansas starter Eric Skoglund. With two on-base, Brad Zunica laced a two-run triple to tie the game at 2-2. Moments later, Ruddy Giron brought in another run with a groundout as the Sod Poodles took a 3-2 lead.
From that point, Amarillo starter Lake Bachar settled down. Bachar ultimately pitched six innings and allowed just two runs in the third. He struck out four.
The Sod Poodles added on to the lead in the fifth. Edward Olivares hit an RBI single while Luis Torrens ripped an RBI double to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
In the seventh, Amarillo tacked on two more against the Naturals’ bullpen. After a double play brought in a run, Kyle Overstreet hit a run-scoring single to make it 7-2. Overstreet would collect another RBI single in the ninth to extend the lead to 8-2.
After Bachar exited the game, the Sod Poodles’ bullpen took over. Blake Rogers tossed a scoreless seventh while Evan Miller came on for the eighth in his Double-A debut and retired the side in order.
Right-hander David Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure the victory and Texas League South First Half title.
The Sod Poodles begin the second half of the 2019 season on Tuesday night as their series continues at Northwest Arkansas. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.
-Amarillo Sod Poodles
