Epic comeback in longest home game of the year

June 28, 2013 - American Association (AA)
Amarillo ThunderHeads News Release


AMARILLO, TX - After a thirty-minute wind delay, the Sox score five in the eighth to win 13-11 over the Diablos at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium. A crowd of 2,442 saw the Sox earn their seventh win in a row. The game lasted four hours and nine minutes, including the delay during the middle of the eighth inning.

Sox starter, Jason Mitchell allowed three singles to begin the game, including an RBI for Jose Garcia. After an error by the Sox shortstop, Brian Joynt drove in another run with a double. Two batters later, Rogelio Noris picked up his first RBI of the season and gave the Diablos a 4-0 lead. Amarillo scored a run in the third once Adam DeLaGarza reached on an infield hit, reached second on a throwing error on the same play, and then on the next play, scored by a KC Serna single. The score after three innings was 4-1.

In the fourth inning, Brandon Jones committed an error at third, which led to a Devin Thaut RBI single, giving El Paso a four-run lead. The Sox cut it the deficit to two in the bottom half with a two-RBI double by Jones. Both runs that scored had reached on walks. KC Serna singled in the fifth and would score the Sox fourth run on a wild pitch by Luis Chirinos. Amarillo trailed 5-4 going into the sixth.

Mitchell walked the first batter in the sixth, gave up a single, recorded two outs, and then would be taken out after giving up a two-RBI double to Murray Watts. Josh Giles was the reliever and in his first batter faced, allowed a three-run homer to Brian Joynt. Giles got out of the inning two batters later with a strikeout. Amarillo was able to come within three runs of the Diablos in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Grossman led off with a walk and then Cory Patton hit his first homerun of the season. Later in the inning, Chris Valencia picked up an RBI and then David Peralta struck out looking with two in scoring position. Peralta would be ejected shortly thereafter for drawing a line by the plate. Before the start of the seventh, Bobby Brown was also thrown out for arguing with the third base umpire.

El Paso made it 11-7 on an RBI single by Garcia in the seventh off reliever John Holdzkom who struck out Joynt to end a bases loaded jam. The Sox answered back with a run in the home half with doubles form Grossman and Patton. Freddy Flores, the Sox pitching coach, came in relief for the eighth and struck out three batters and walked one. A high-wind delay pushed back the start of the bottom of the eighth inning by half an hour. When play resumed, the reliever for El Paso was Chandler Barnard. The Sox chased the reliever from the game when he walked the first batter, and then gave up three straight singles to make it 11-9. Ryan Henderson came in and walked his first batter, forcing in another run. Chris Grossman grounded to third and the force out was made at home. The next batter, Cory Patton hit a double to left center which brought in all three runners to give the Sox their first lead.

Erik Draxton (S, 6) closed out the ninth, preserving Amarillo's two-run lead, and earning his sixth save of the season. Freddy Flores (W, 1-0) allowed no hits in his inning pitched with three strikeouts. Ryan Henderson (L, 0-2) went an inning, allowing two runs on one hit while walking one. Chandler Barnard recorded no outs and allowed three earned runs on three hits with a walk. Marshall Schuler went two innings for El Paso and allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. John Holdzkom, for the Sox, pitched an inning with one run allowed on one hit while walking four and striking out one. Josh Giles pitched a third of an inning and gave up one run on two hits with a strikeout. Starter Jason Mitchell went five and two-thirds, giving up nine runs, seven earned on ten hits while walking two and striking out three. The Diablos' starter, Luis Chirinos allowed six runs, five earned on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

With the win, the Sox improve to 25-14, while the Diablos fall to 10-30 on the season. Friday, the Sox travel to Laredo for a three-game series against the Lemurs.

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.



American Association Stories from June 28, 2013


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