The Sod Poodles fell 8-4 to the Tulsa Drillers Tuesday night in front of 5,083 at HODGETOWN. Kyle Overstreet led the Sod Poodles offensively going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI. Sod Poodles starter MacKenzie Gore tossed 1.2 innings in his fifth Texas League start, striking out five of the six batters he faced. The Sod Poodles remain one game up on Midland in the Texas League second-half South Division standings.
Tulsa struck first Tuesday night plating one run on two hits in the third inning. Jared Walker started the half with a walk and advanced to second via a Markus Solbach sacrifice bunt. Drew Avans then hit an RBI single to center field. One batter later, Jeter Downs hit a two-run home run to left field to give the Drillers the early 3-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Tulsa added two more runs to extend their advantage to 5-0. Errol Robinson singled to left-center field to start the inning. Carlos Rincon then doubled down the left-field line to place runners on second and third. Walker brought Robinson home on a sacrifice fly while Solbach hit an RBI double down the right-field line to plate Rincon.
The Drillers stretched their lead to 6-0 in the top of the sixth inning. A pair of singles by Avans and Downs placed runners on first and second base. Connor Wong then roped a single to left field to score Avans before Omar Estevez ended the inning with a pop out to the catcher in foul territory.
Amarillo answered in the bottom of the sixth inning finding life with four runs of their own. Owen Miller and Luis Torrens started the momentum, reaching on an error and base hit respectively with one out. After Hudson Potts popped out, Kyle Overstreet knocked a two-out RBI base hit through the hole at second base to score Miller. One batter later, Tyler Benson belted an RBI single to right field. In the pitcher's spot, reliever Blake Rogers came to the plate and helped his own cause with a double to left-center to score Torrens and Benson, cutting the Tulsa lead to 6-4.
In the seventh inning, the Drillers tacked on one run on two hits. After two strikeouts to start the inning, Rincon singled to left field. Walker reached base via a walk to place runners on first and second base. Pinch hitter Chris Parmelee followed with an RBI single to left field to take a 7-4 advantage.
Tulsa added another insurance run in the eighth inning thanks to Wong's solo home run to left field to extend the Drillers lead to 8-4.
Amarillo entered the ninth inning trailing four runs and made things interesting with late pressure. Taylor Trammell and Ivan Castillo both worked walks to start the inning while Edward Olivares followed with a fielder’s choice groundout to place runners on third and first base and mark the first out. After a walk to Miller to load the bases, Torrens was unable to produce with a strikeout swinging. As Amarillo's tying run and last chance, Potts saw an opportunity on a 2-1 pitch but popped out to Walker in foul territory to end the contest.
The Sod Poodles continue their four-game series against the Tulsa Drillers Wednesday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 11:05 a.m.
-Amarillo Sod Poodles
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