Nine Unanswered Runs In Late Innings Deflate Amarillo Comeback Bid

AMARILLO, TX (July 7, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (5-8, 41-40) fell to the Arkansas Travelers (7-6, 48-34), 11-3, in 10 innings on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. Falling behind in the top of the first inning, the Sod Poodles fought hard to take a one-run lead in the eighth inning before the Travs offense came alive in their last two guaranteed chances to bat.

The Arkansas bats were all over Amarillo starter Ashton Izzi in the opening frame, with Connor Charping lacing a double the other way and Charlie Pagliarini following up with an opposite-field home run to put the Travs up 2-0 just two batters into the game. The Sod Poodles would respond in their first turn to bat thanks to a Jansel Luis solo shot to left field off of southpaw Nico Tellache.

Jansel Luis leaves the yard!

Soddies on the Board! #SoddiesSummer pic.twitter.com/pfkYOKqwBX

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 8, 2026

Izzi settled in after the rocky first inning, allowing just one more hit in the top of the sixth after retiring the previous 12 Travs batters in a row. The strong effort from the D-backs No. 18 prospect gave Amarillo time to knot the game up at 2-2 in the home half of the fifth on Luis’ RBI single with two outs in a two-strike count.

Jansel Luis with an RBI Single and we are tied at HODGETOWN! ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/IQrqWpc2ZE

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 8, 2026

Tellache also gave way to bullpen after completing six innings of work, with the stalemate continuing into the bottom of the eighth after a scoreless inning from Teddy McGraw of the Travelers in the seventh and Logan Mercado holding the Arkansas offense at bay across six outs.

Two hits was all the Soddies needed to take their first lead of the night once the game made its way to the eighth inning, beginning with a two-out triple off the center field wall for Ben McLaughlin. In what would be the last batter that Reid VanScoter faced, Alberto Barriga outlasted the southpaw in a 12-pitch at-bat in which the Sod Poodles backstop spoiled just about every offering until he grounded the go-ahead RBI single up the middle.

After a 12 pitch at-bat, Alberto Barriga puts the Soddies ahead 3-2 in the 8th!#SoddiesSummer pic.twitter.com/nBV4PYHBvL

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 8, 2026

Carlos Rey entered to pitch for Amarillo in the ninth in a save situation, but walked Blake Rambusch to lead off the inning. Once on base, he manufactured the tying run by stealing second and third base to only be 90 feet from home with one away when a Jared Sundstrom sacrifice fly brought him in.

The Soddies went down in order in the ninth, bringing the game to extras. Indigo Diaz was deemed the man for the job in the top of the tenth, but the inning quickly got away from him after a two-RBI double off the bat of Pagliarini that split the right-center field gap and a wall-scraping two-run homer by Hunter Fitz-Gerald.

Diaz allowed two more runners before being pulled in favor for Dawson Brown. Brown walked the first batter he faced before surrendering a grand slam to Sundstrom that blew the game open. Outside of a Druw Jones base hit in the Soddies last chance to bat, the hosts could not muster any other offense and dropped the series opener.

POSTGAME NOTES

IZZI THE ONE?: After giving up five hits in the first inning, matching a season-high for one frame of this current campaign, Ashton Izzi held Arkansas to just one hit over his next five innings pitched...in all, Izzi turned in six full frames with just two runs allowed for his fourth quality start of the year and second in as many starts.

ENDURANCE TEST: Alberto Barriga pieced together a 12-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning that resulted in a go-ahead RBI single...it tied the longest at-bat by a Sod Poodles hitter this year, with the only other two instances resulting in strikeouts.