The Sod Poodles dropped their series finale Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark, 10-5.
After claiming the Texas League First Half Championship with an 8-2 win on Monday night, the Sod Poodles dropped the final two games of the series.
Amarillo took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Naturals starter Brady Singer as Luis Torrens poked an RBI single into right field to plate Ivan Castillo, who began the game with a single.
Left-hander Adrian Morejon made the start for Amarillo, and was scheduled to throw approximately two innings. After a scoreless first inning, Morejon allowed two runs in second on a two-run single from Northwest Arkansas left fielder Kort Peterson. Right-hander Kyle Lloyd replaced Morejon after he tossed 36 pitches.
The Sod Poodles tied the game in third against Singer, on another RBI single for Luis Torrens.
In the fifth, Gabriel Cancel belted his 13th home run of the season off Lloyd to give the Naturals a 3-2 advantage. Northwest Arkansas plated another in the sixth on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
Amarillo battled back in the top of the seventh against lefty Emilio Ogando. Castillo and Edward Olivares began the frame with base hits, while Owen Miller doubled down the right field side to bring both runs in. Miller, who collected three hits, tied the game at 4-4.
Moments later, Luis Torrens struck again with a double down the left field line to score Miller and give the Sod Poodles a 5-4 lead.
The lead was short lived. After giving up consecutive singles to Cancel and Khalil Lee in the seventh, Lloyd surrendered a three-run home run to Emmanuel Rivera as the Naturals jumped out to a 7-5 lead.
Northwest Arkansas plated three more runs in the eighth against Blake Rogers.
The Sod Poodles continue their seven-game road trip on Thursday with the team’s first ever visit to ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The opener of a four-game set against the Tulsa Drillers begins at 7:05 p.m. It is the final series before the Texas League All-Star Break from June 24-26.
-Amarillo Sod Poodles
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