Sod Poodles Fall To RoughRiders Tuesday Night

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 @ Frisco RoughRiders [TEX]

Amarillo Sod Poodles (11-14) | Frisco RoughRiders (15-9)

*Frisco, Texas *—The Sod Poodles dropped the opening game Tuesday night against the Frisco RoughRiders at Riders Field by a final score of 4-1.

Amarillo starter Humberto Mejia was notched with his fourth loss despite a solid effort on the hill after a season-high 6.1 innings with just three hits allowed and eight strikeouts. Frisco starter Jake Latz dueled with Mejia, tossing an impressive six-inning performance with three hits allowed and 11 strikeouts.

In the first, the Soddies threatened early after D-backs number four-rated prospect Alek Thomas led the opening game off with a single. Following a force out of Thomas on Mikey Reynolds' grounder, Jake McCarthy continued the momentum with a base hit. A one-out double steal put Amarillo into a comfortable scoring situation but two consecutive strikeouts would end the threat and keep the Sod Poodles off the board.

In the 'Riders second, after a quick first half delivered by Sod Poodles starter Mejia, Frisco outfielder Steele Walker lifted a 2-0 pitch out to right field to make it a 1-0 ballgame.

From the third through the fifth inning, no hits were exchanged on either side and only one walk was surrendered.

In the sixth, after back-to-back strikeouts by Thomas and Reynolds to start the half, McCarthy knocked his fourth home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

Mejia entered the bottom of the seventh after cruising through four no-hit frames and immediately surrendered his first two free passes of the contest followed by a single by Elier Hernandez to break the tie. Reliever Chester Pimentel took over for Mejia but a wild pitch during his first at-bat plated a second run while a throwing error and a single extended Frisco's lead to 4-1.

The Soddies were unable to regain any momentum in the eighth and ninth frames, going without a hit.

The Sod Poodles head into game two Wednesday night against the Frisco RoughRiders. First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Riders Field.

Notes:

Mejia's Outing: In his sixth bid of 2021, Humberto Mejia tossed his longest outing of the season in Frisco on Tuesday night after tossing 6.1 frames and struck out a season second-highest eight batters on the night after allowing a season-low three hits.

Quick One: The Tuesday night matchup in Frisco for the Sod Poodles marked the shortest road game of the 2021 season for Amarillo. The nine-inning contest with the RoughRiders was played in two hours and 11 minutes.

In The Numbers: The Soddies drop to a 2-8 record on the season when committing an error in a game and a 3-4 record when tied after six complete frames. The squad also falls to a 2-12 record when scoring three or fewer runs.

Fourth Straight: The Sod Poodles dropped their fourth straight game Tuesday night in Frisco to mark their longest losing streak of 2021.

Tomorrow's Preview: The Sod Poodles takes on the RoughRiders Wednesday night at Riders Field. Amarillo righty Luis Frias will go up against Frisco's Cole Winn. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.