Soddies Battle Valiantly, Fall To Missions In 11-Inning Affair

Friday, July 30, 2021 vs. San Antonio Missions [SD]

San Antonio Missions (37-38) | Amarillo Sod Poodles (31-44)

The Sod Poodles fell to the San Antonio Missions in the 11th inning of a back-and-forth affair by a score of 7-5 in front of a sold-out crowd of over 6,400 at HODGETOWN on Friday night.

With three outs to work with in the bottom of the ninth and down 2-0 to the Missions, the Sod Poodles strung together four consecutive hits to score two and send the contest into extra innings.

After the Missions plated three runs in the top of the 10th, two home runs in the bottom half brought Amarillo back to even with San Antonio before another two runs by the visitors in the 11th frame made the difference.

Amarillo starter and D-backs No. 18 rated prospect Ryne Nelson was terrific in his sixth Double-A start. After no-hitting the Missions through five frames, Nelson allowed a solo home run to start the sixth but finished strong with one run allowed on two hits with seven strikeouts.

In the top of the fourth, after three and one-third perfect frames, Nelson surrendered a walk to Esteury Ruiz to end the flawless bid. Two stolen bases followed by another walk quickly put the pressure on, but a third and successful pickoff attempt and a groundout ended the threat to maintain the scoreless contest.

In the sixth, following five no-hit frames, San Antonio's Juan Fernandez broke the zero and tie with a solo home run to left-center field to make it a 1-0 contest.

Nelson exited after allowing a single and recording a seventh and final strikeout, making way for reliever Mitchell Stumpo who got out of the frame unscathed. Stumpo finished after two and two-thirds scoreless frames with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts.

Through regulation, the Soddies found themselves with runners in scoring position often. In the third, fifth, seventh, and eighth innings, Amarillo stranded runners in scoring position.

The Sod Poodles found late momentum in the seventh with two outs when back-to-back singles by Mikey Reynolds and Dominic Fletcher put the tying and go-ahead run on, but a pop-up in foul territory off the bat of Garrett ended the frame.

In the eighth, Buddy Kennedy walked with one out before Dominic Canzone doubled to put two in scoring position, but the Soddies were unable to take advantage again after a strikeout and groundout.

The Missions added an insurance run in the top of the ninth courtesy of Jose Azocar's home run to right field to extend out to a 2-0 lead, but righty reliever Jeff Bain closed out the frame with three strikeouts.

In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, Fletcher ripped a double to deep centerfield to bring the tying run, Garrett, to the plate. Garrett singled to score one while Ryder Jones' single put runners on the corners and Buddy Kennedy followed with a game-tying single. Then, Canzone came just inches from a game-winning line-drive single but a quick snag by Kelvin Melean sent the contest to extras.

The Missions plated three runs in the top of the 10th on a sacrifice fly ball and a bases-clearing double by Azocar to jump out to a 5-2 lead.

In the bottom half, with Canzone starting as the runner on second base, Renae Martinez slugged a 3-2 pitch to deep center and out, his fifth of 2021, to put the good guys within a run. After Miroglio flied out, Osvaldo Abreu launched a solo shot deep and out to left field to tie the game at 5-5, pushing the game to the 11th.

In the top half, Kyle Overstreet struck out to mark the first out before Allen Cordoba made the difference with a two-run home run to right field.

The Soddies late-life didn't continue one more frame as they went down in order to make it a 7-5 final.

The Sod Poodles and Missions continue the series with game five tomorrow night at HODGETOWN. Right-hander Luis Frias gets the start for Amarillo and will face up against San Antonio righty Brett Kennedy.

Notes:

75 In The Books: Through 75 games in 2021, the Soddies hold a 31-44 record. Offensively, as a team through the span, they are batting .231 with 116 doubles, 20 triples, 80 home runs, 324 RBI, 268 walks, 78 stolen bases, and slashing .312/.390/.702. As a staff collectively, Soddies arms have combined for a 5.02 ERA over 655.2 IP with 759 strikeouts, 295 walks, and a .248 opposing batting average.

Nelson's Night:The D-backs No. 18 rated prospect Ryne Nelson cruised through five no-hit innings Friday night in his sixth Double-A start against San Antonio before surrendering a solo home run to start the sixth frame. He finished his outing after 5.1 innings with a run allowed on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Over his last five starts, the Nevada native hasn't allowed more than two earned runs.

Abre-U-KIDDING-ME?!: Osvaldo Abreu knocked his first home run of 2021 in big-time fashion to tie the game at 5-5 in the 10th inning against San Antonio Friday night. The long-ball marked the 32nd of his career and first home run for the Dominican native since September 2, 2019 with Advanced-A Potomac.

Double-A Streak: Soddies outfielder and newest member in Amarillo Dominic Canzone marked his fourth straight game at Double-A with a hit. On Friday night, Canzone went 1-for-5 with a run and a double. Over the four games, he has gone 6-for-15 with a double, home run, and three RBI.

Full House at HODGETOWN: Friday night marked another sellout at HODGETOWN with a total of 6,421 people cheering on the Soddies. It is the 7th sellout for Amarillo this season and 47th overall since the HODGETOWN gates opened in 2019.

Not A RISP-y For Success: The Soddies went just 3-for-16 in the contest with San Antonio. Overall, they left 14 runners on base.

Out-hit L: The Soddies fell for just their eighth time when out-hitting an opponent. Amarillo now holds a 24-8 record when meeting the feat.