Sod Poodles Clip Missions 9-7 On Saturday Night

Amarillo, Texas (June 17, 2023) – Amarillo snapped their mini three-game slide, beating San Antonio 9-7 on Star Wars Night. The win tightens the Missions division lead to just three games with seven remaining in the Texas League first half.

A pair of defensive highlights for Amarillo helped to strand a leadoff hit by pitch. Neyfy Castillo hosed Tirso Ornelas trying to stretch a single into a double. The very next pitch, Seth Beer made a diving stop at first base for the second out and kept the runner at third from breaking for home. Luke Albright fanned his first of the night to bring an end to the top of the first inning. The Missions' 10th home run of the series so far put them up by a run in the second inning.

Ryan Bliss tied the game for Amarillo with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third, scoring Tim Tawa who reached with a one-out single. San Antonio jumped back in front with a three-run inning in the top of the fourth. Their second home run of the game did all of the damage.

Now trailing by three runs, A.J. Vukovich belted his 11th home run of the season to straight away center field to immediately start cutting away at the deficit. Six hits followed him, as another five runs came in, giving Amarillo their first lead of the game. The outburst was highlighted by back-to-back two-out triples from Bliss and Jordan Lawlar.

After nine combined runs in the fourth, the two teams managed just two total baserunners in the fifth with neither even making it into scoring position as the game stayed at 7-4.

Three consecutive singles off Albright brought his night to an end in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded for Andrew Saalfrank. The second out of the inning brought home a run on a sacrifice fly. An error kept the inning alive, with the tying-run shortly behind it. The fourth San Antonio hit of the inning tied things up at 7-7.

Amarillo went down quietly in the home half of the sixth, but Saalfrank matched it in the top of the seventh, retiring the Missions in order. The Sod Poodles got the go-ahead run in the seventh. Lawlar's second extra-base hit of the game was a one-out double. A failed pick-off attempt allowed the D-backs' top-rated prospect to get to third. Lawlar scampered home on a wild pitch to go up by a run. Del Castillo picked up his lone hit of the night, an opposite-field double that scored Vukovich after he was placed on base with an intentional walk and advanced to scoring position on the wild pitch.

In this third inning of work, Saalfrank continued to mow down the Missions. He worked his second straight 1-2-3 inning to move the game to the bottom of the eighth. Tawa drew a one-out walk but would be the only Sod Poodle to reach base in the frame.

Josh Green was the third Amarillo pitcher used in the game when he came in for the top of the ninth. A leadoff single was followed by a ground out back to Green on the mound, allowing the runner to move into scoring position. A hit batter sent the potential go-ahead run to the plate. A deep fly ball that Vukovich tracked down at the left-center field wall provided a long out, but put the Soddies an out away from the win.

The second ground out back to Green snapped Amarillo's three-game slide and gave Amarillo a chance at the series split tomorrow when the two teams square off.

RHP Jamison Hill takes the bump for Amarillo in the final game of the series on Father's Day. The former Fresno State Bulldog earned his first win of the series back on Tuesday.

NOTES:

VUK, I AM YOUR FATHER: A.J. Vukovich swatted his team-leading 11th homer of the year with a 415 ft blast to dead center in the bottom of the fourth. Vukovich entered Saturday's action 1-for-14 in the series but added he homer and a pair of runs scored for Amarillo's winning efforts.

MMMM, BEER: Seth Beer added a trio of hits, his first three-hit game as a Sod Poodle. He does own two of the three four-hit games this season.

RYAN. FREAKING. BLISS: The D-backs' no. 29-rated prospect turned in his 30th multi-hit game of the season, picking up a two-RBI triple and single. His 88 hits lead all of minor league baseball and he extended his current hit streak to eight games, all of which have included a RBI, tied for the most by a Texas League player this season.

THE LAW: Jordan Lawlar added his 13th multi-hit game, hitting back-to-back triples with Ryan Bliss in a six-run Sod Poodles fourth inning. Lawlar's three triples are tied for the second most on the club this year.