Cruz's Four RBI Send Sox Past Pheasants 9-7

Published on May 24, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Amarillo ThunderHeads News Release


AMARILLO, TX - Amarillo Sox outfielder Lee Cruz was named the Pointstreak Batter of the Week on Monday. On Tuesday night, Cruz showed why by going 3-5 with four RBI and a homerun as the Sox defeated the Sioux Falls Pheasants 9-7 in front of 1,492 fans at the Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium.

Sox starter Matt Elliott (1-0) got the win, allowing five runs off seven hits with six strikeouts. Pheasants starter Chris Salberg (0-3) got the loss, allowing eight of the nine Sox runs. Amarillo closer Corey Bass earned his second save after shutting out Sioux Falls in the ninth.

Amarillo took a first inning lead as Fehlandt Lentini led off with a single and scored on a Matt Tucker RBI triple. Tucker would score on a Cruz groundout for a two-run lead. Sioux Falls responded with two runs in the second as Brandon Sing hit a solo homerun and Trevor Lawhorn scored on a sacrifice fly for a 2-2 tie game.

The Sox broke the tie in the second as Chris Nash doubled and scored on a Jason White single for a one-run Amarillo lead. The Pheasants broke back in the fourth inning as Lawhorn hit a one-out double and scored on a Francisco Leandro RBI double to tie the game 3-3.

Amarillo once again broke the tie as Benji Johnson hit an RBI single in the fifth. Unfortunately, for the third time in the game, the Sox gave up the lead. In the sixth inning, Mark Shorey hit a solo homerun, followed by a Lawhorn double. Leandro singled to score Lawnhorn for a 5-4 Pheasants advantage.

Leading off in the bottom of the sixth inning, Nash hit a solo homerun to right field to tie the game. Adam De La Garza and Tucker followed with singles, while Cyle Hankerd singled to score De La Garza to take the lead. Cruz followed with a double down the left field line to score Tucker and Hankerd for an 8-5 Sox lead.

Reggie Abercrombie of Sioux Falls hit a two-run homerun in the seventh to bring the score to within a run, but reliever Austin Chambliss closed the door on the Pheasants through the eighth inning to preserve the one run-lead. Cruz added a solo homerun in the eighth inning for insurance.

Bass came in and retired all three batters he faced in the ninth, capped off with a strikeout of Abercrombie to preserve the 9-7 win.

With the win, the Sox improve to 3-8 while the Pheasants fall to 4-8. On Wednesday, Amarillo will take on Sioux Falls for the second game of the three-game set at 7:05pm, with the Aqua One Pre-Game Show set to begin at 6:50pm on Ustream, via www.amarillosox.com. Game time is tentative and is subject to blackout.

Season tickets are available for purchase in-person by visiting the Sox Front Offices at 801 S. Polk or over the phone by calling (806) 242-4653. For more information on tickets, game times and schedules, promotions, marketing opportunities, and everything else Sox, visit the "Official Website of the Amarillo Sox" at www.amarillosox.com.

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American Association Stories from May 24, 2011


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