Bachar's Career Night Leads to Sod Poodles 9-1 Series Opener Victory over RoughRiders
Published on July 4, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
AMARILLO, Texas - Sod Poodles right-hander Lake Bachar had a career night on the mound, leading Amarillo to a 9-1 victory behind seven and two-thirds shutout innings while allowing just four hits in front of a franchise-high 7,451 fans on the first-ever Independence Day at HODGETOWN. Bachar set new career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts in a start with nine. The win marks the fifth win for Amarillo in their last seven games.
Offensively, Ivan Castillo, Edward Olivares and Kyle Overstreet recorded multi-hit nights while Castillo and Hudson Potts each had a multi-RBI performance.
The opening game of the series went scoreless into the third inning. In the top half of the third, Frisco put the pressure on first after two consecutive walks by Bachar to Brendon Davis and Leody Taveras. After two strikeouts and a fly out to keep the runners put, Charles Leblanc grounded a base hit up the middle, but a diving Peter Van Gansen at shortstop was able to collect it quick enough and toss a strike to the plate and tag out a speeding Davis at home to keep the game scoreless.
The Sod Poodles carried the momentum into the bottom half of the third with Overstreet, Van Gansen and Buddy Reed starting the frame with three consecutive singles to quickly load the bases. With no outs, Taylor Kohlwey made it a 1-0 contest after he was hit by a pitch. In the next at-bat, Castillo broke it open with a double to the left-center field gap while Olivares knocked a sacrifice fly ball to make it a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Reed extended Amarillo's lead to 5-0 on his sacrifice fly ball to left field to plate Brad Zunica, who singled to lead off the inning.
Amarillo continued the offensive rhythm with another run in the bottom of the fifth after Luis Torrens singled to plate Edward Olivares, who collected his team-leading 19th double, and make it a 6-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, Hudson Potts came up big with a one-out single to plate both Kohlwey and Castillo, who both began the inning with base hits, and increase their lead to 8-0.
After battling through two outs and tossing a season-high 106 pitches in the top of the eighth, Bachar was relieved by J.C. Cosme who shut down the remaining one and one-third frames. He allowed one hit and a run in the ninth with two walks and a strikeout.
The Sod Poodles and RoughRiders continue into game two of the four-game set at HODGETOWN tomorrow, Friday, July 5. First pitch at HODGETOWN is at 7:05 p.m. Gates for the event open at 6:00 p.m.
NOTES
The Chicken Is Coming: The Famous Chicken, also historically known as the "San Diego Chicken", is coming to Amarillo for the first time in nearly a decade to perform at HODGETOWN during the Sod Poodles Wednesday, July 17 game when they face off against the Springfield Cardinals. Presented by the Downtown Athletic Club, the Famous Chicken will be seen during multiple inning breaks throughout the night and will also be signing autographs for fans following the game. Gates for the 7:05 p.m. game are scheduled to open at 6:00 p.m.
Tomorrow's Preview: The Sod Poodles enter into the second game of the four-game set against the Frisco RoughRiders at HODGETOWN. Southpaw Nick Margevicius will get the start for the Sod Poodles, seeking his second win of 2019. He will match up against righty Tyler Phillips.
6th Great Lake: Lake Bachar earned his fourth straight victory on Independence Day against the Frisco RoughRiders. Bachar tossed a career-high 7.2 innings where he struck out a career-high nine batters and didn't allow a run on four hits. The victory improves Bachar's record to 5-2.
The Pride of Venezuela: Edward Olivares extended his current hit streak to seven games in the first inning of Thursday night's game against the Frisco RoughRiders. During his hit streak, Olivares is 13-for-25 (.520) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, and a run.
Huddy Is Back: Since being reinstated from the IL on June 30th Hudson Potts is batting .267 (4-for-15) with three doubles, three RBI, and a run scored. On the season Potts is batting .213 with five home runs, 25 RBI, 15 doubles, and 27 runs.
New High: HODGETOWN welcomed 7,451 fans through its gates on Independence Day which marks a new franchise high.
Oppo Pop: Ivan Castillo collected his 17th double of the season Thursday as he belted a two-RBI double to the left field wall. Castillo finished the 2018 season with 25 doubles with High-A Dunedin.
Season Recap: With their victory Thursday night the Sod Poodles have taken the season series lead over the Frisco RoughRiders 6-5. The Sod Poodles are outscoring the RoughRiders 56-46 in the season series.
Last Time There Was Fireworks: The last time baseball was played on Independence Day in Amarillo was in 2015 when the Amarillo Thunderheads and Wichita Wingnuts faced off at Potter County Memorial Stadium. The Thunderheads defeated the Wingnuts by a final score of 5-4 as outfielder Stefan Gartrell hit a walk-off home run.
Last Time We Met: In the last series against Frisco at HODGETOWN, the RoughRiders swept the Sod Poodles in three games, outscoring Amarillo 21-9. Prior to the last home series, the Sod Poodles held a 5-2 record against the Frisco squad.
Zunica's Big Day: Brad Zunica collected three hits in Wednesday's win, including a solo homer and RBI single. It was Zunica's fourth game with three hits this season and his first since May 24 vs. Midland. The home run was his first long ball since May 26 vs. Midland. Zunica has experienced tremendous success against the RockHounds. In 63 at-bats, he's hitting .381 with 7 home runs and 19 RBIs. He holds an OPS of 1.245 against Midland this season.
Lights Out Lloyd: Soddies righty Kyle Lloyd delivered his finest outing of the season on Wednesday night, tossing seven innings while allowing just one unearned run. He began the game with four perfect innings. It was Lloyd's longest outing since he tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out ten on April 9, 2018, for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas at Las Vegas. His eight strikeouts were the most he's recorded since that start.
Back in the Mix: Outfielder Rodrigo Orozco made his first start of the second half on Tuesday since being activated off the injured list. Orozco led off and collected an extra-base hit for the squad on Tuesday while also collecting a single Wednesday as leadoff.
One More: Rodrigo Orozco is sitting at 99 career doubles heading into Wednesday night's contest against the Midland RockHounds. Orozco has collected 11 doubles so far this season.
Even in July: After going winless through the first two games in the month of July, the Sod Poodles picked up their first and second victories Wednesday and Thursday to improve to a 2-2 record on the month.
Win Streak Snapped: The Sod Poodles snapped Midland's six-game win-streak with Wednesday night's 4-1 victory in Security Bank Ballpark.
Sellout Streak: Following Thursday's Independence Day game where 7,451 flooded into HODGETOWN, the Sod Poodles have hosted nine straight sellouts and 19 overall so far during the 2019 season.
June Recap: Amarillo completed the month of June with a 12-14 (.461) record. Offensively, the team finished fourth in the Texas League in average (.266) over 26 games with 119 runs (3rd), 232 hits (3rd), 349 total bases (3rd), 46 doubles (1st), seven triples (T-2nd), 19 home runs (T-6th), 104 RBI (5th), and 21 stolen bases (T-3rd). Sod Poodles arms finished with the fourth-best ERA (3.73) and were second in innings pitched (229.1), fifth in earned runs allowed (95), and fourth in strikeouts (232).
Swipin' Bags: Edward Olivares collected his 21st stolen bag Saturday night. His total ranks Olivares third in the Texas League in the category and is seventh in all of Double-A. Nick Heath of Northwest Arkansas ranks first at the Double-A level with 42 stolen bases this season.
Futures Call: Amarillo Sod Poodles southpaw and Padres' number six-rated prospect (MLB.com) Adrian Morejon was selected to the National League roster for the 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which will be played at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 7th at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Rosters were announced by Major League Baseball earlier today on MLB Network's "MLB Central." The SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which is now in its 21st year, features the top Minor League prospects competing as part of All-Star Sunday. Morejon (Amarillo) is one of three San Diego Padres' Minor League pitching prospects selected to the roster. The other two include number two-rated prospect (MLB.com) and North Carolina native Mackenzie Gore (Lake Elsinore) and number 9-rated prospect (MLB.com) and Colombia native Luis Patiño (Lake Elsinore).
Post-season in the Panhandle: Amarillo clinched a spot in the 2019 postseason on June 17 as they beat the Naturals 8-2, while division rival Midland fell to Springfield, 3-0. Amarillo will host the first two games of the Texas League Division Series on September 4th and 5th. The Sod Poodles made quite the run to the Texas League South First Half title in 2019. On May 16, the Soddies were in last place in the division and trailed the division leader by 6 games.
What's Coming Up: Amarillo is home for the holiday weekend with a four-game set against the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders. Next week, Amarillo is on the road through the week to face their Oil-Pan Cup rival, the Midland RockHounds, for a three-game set in Midland, before heading to Frisco for four.
Texas League Stories from July 4, 2019
- Sheffield and Travs Edge FaGalde and Cards, 2-0 - Springfield Cardinals
- Drillers Defeated Before Largest Crowd of Season - Tulsa Drillers
- All-Stars Shine on the 4th in Tulsa - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Bachar's Career Night Leads to Sod Poodles 9-1 Series Opener Victory over RoughRiders - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- The Famous "San Diego Chicken" Is Coming to HODGETOWN - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Riders Tripped up in Amarillo - Frisco RoughRiders
- Sheffield and Friends Shutout Springfield on the Fourth - Arkansas Travelers
- Hounds Fall to Amarillo in Series Finale - Midland RockHounds
- Cardinals Top Drillers on Gonzalez Walk-Off Single - Springfield Cardinals
- Late Barrage Sends Riders to Series Win - Corpus Christi Hooks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
