TL1 Amarillo Sod Poodles

Overstreet's Inside-The-Park Grand Slam Secures Sod Poodles Fifth Consecutive Victory

Published on July 16, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles marked their fifth straight win Tuesday night with a 10-4 victory over the Springfield Cardinals in the series opener at HODGETOWN, secured by Kyle Overstreet's inside-the-park grand slam in the seventh inning. The grand slam marked the first in Sod Poodles franchise history and third inside-the-park home run overall. The five-game win streak matches a season-high for the team in 2019.

Hudson Potts added three of the night's runs with his 2-for-4 performance with a home run and a double while Edward Olivares and Luis Torrens both collected three-hit games.

Sod Poodles starter Adrian Morejon made his first start at HODGETOWN since appearing in the 2019 MLB Futures Game in Cleveland during All-Star weekend. He tossed two innings and allowed no runs, hits or walks and struck out two. Righty Lake Bachar followed Morejon, entering in the third inning, and spanned four and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while J.C. Cosme closed out the remaining two and one-third hitless innings with one strikeout, earning his second save of the season.

Amarillo got the bats going early on in the first game of the Springfield series. After a quiet first frame, Torrens began the second inning with a leadoff single. Potts answered in the next at-bat with a towering two-run home run to left-center field to make it a 2-0 Amarillo lead, marking his ninth of the season and second in as many games. After a double by Overstreet to restart the half, Morejon laid down a sacrifice bunt which led to a throwing error on the play to allowed Overstreet to score and make it a 3-0 score.

In the bottom of the third, the home squad kept the pedal to the metal with two more runs to make it a 5-0 advantage. Olivares led off with a single while a wild pitch and Torrens' single would bring him around to score. Potts then stepped up in his second at-bat and lined a double to right field to plate the second run.

In the fifth, Owen Miller led off and connected with his first hit of the game coming in home run fashion, giving the Sod Poodles a 6-0 lead through five frames.

Springfield struck the board in the top of the sixth, plating two runs in the frame on three hits to make it a 6-2 contest. Dylan Carlson initiated the momentum with a single while Irving Lopez followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Then, Yariel Gonzalez singled to plate both runs before being tagged out stretching for second.

Springfield closed the gap to within two with two more runs in the top of the seventh after two consecutive extra-base hits allowed and a groundout. With the tying run at the plate, Cardinals' Carlson drove a deep fly to right field but fell short with a catch near the wall by Taylor Kohlwey in right field.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Sod Poodles extended back out to a six-run lead. After the first three consecutive batters reached base safely to load them, Overstreet lined a ball down the left-field line and deep into the corner, resulting in an inside-the-park grand slam to make it a 10-4 lead.

Cosme retired the final six batters of the contest to complete the save and series opener victory.

The Sod Poodles head into the second game of the series against Springfield at HODGETOWN tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

Tomorrow's Preview: The Sod Poodles continue their three-game series against the Springfield Cardinals Wednesday at HODGETOWN. Southpaw Nick Margevicius will match up against righty Johan Oviedo as they both look for their third win of the season.

That Just Happened: In the seventh inning of Tuesday night's ballgame, Kyle Overstreet hit an inside-the-park grand slam. The grand slam was the first in franchise history and Overstreet's second career grand slam. Overstreet's last grand slam was of the walk-off verity coming on May 5th, 2018 against the Corpus Christi Hooks to complete a five-run ninth-inning comeback victory.

Potts For Fire: Since being activated on June 30th from the injured list, Hudson Potts has gotten off to a solid second half. In 14 games since being taken off of the injured list, he has collected four multi-hit games and has totaled four doubles and four home runs with 14 RBI. On July 14 in Frisco, he collected his third three-hit game of 2019 and first since May.

Sellout Streak: Following Tuesday's game where 6,720 fans entered into HODGETOWN, the Sod Poodles have hosted 13 straight sellouts and 23 overall so far during the 2019 season.

Career Milestone: Hudson Potts surpassed 200 career RBI Tuesday night against the Springfield Cardinals. In the second inning, Potts belted a two-run home run to place him at 200 career RBI. Then in the third inning, Potts hit an RBI doubled to place Potts at 201 career RBI.

Miller Time: Owen Miller crushed his ninth home run against the Cardinals Tuesday night. Miller sits tied for fourth with Hudson Potts with nine long balls. Miller's last home run came on June 21st at Tulsa.

Saving The Day: J.C. Cosme earned his second Double-A save Tuesday against Springfield. In High-A with Lake Elsinore this season, Cosme recorded one save in one opportunity.

Five Straight: The Sod Poodles tied a season-high by winning their fifth straight Tuesday night against the Cardinals. The Soddies first five-game win streak came between May 22nd and May 26th when they defeated the Hooks in their series finale then swept the RockHounds in four straight games.

14 Game Hit-Streak: Ivan Castillo, who ranks 1st in Double-A with a .337 batting average, is currently riding a 14-game hit streak. Castillo is batting .333 (19-for-55) with 10 RBI, five runs, one home run, five doubles, and two walks during the 14-game stretch. Castillo's 14 game hit streak has tied a season-high and franchise-high which came between May 16 - May 30.

Giving Himself Up: Amarillo starting pitcher Adrian Morejon dropped down his second career sacrifice bunt in the second inning of Tuesday night's game. Morejon's first career sacrifice bunt came on June 15 against Tulsa.

Reed Belts From Both Sides: Buddy Reed became the first Sod Poodle ever to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in one game on July 14 in Frisco. His first home run in the contest from the left side, belting a solo shot to right field in the third inning. His second home run came in the eighth inning from the right side of the plate.

SWEEP: The Sod Poodles marked their second sweep of the season with four straight wins over the Frisco RoughRiders on the road. The team's first sweep of the season came in late May when the Sod Poodles swept the Midland RockHounds in four games at HODGETOWN.

Another First: Amarillo has moved to three games above .500 for the first time this season with a 10-4 victory over Springfield.

Gore's Debut: LHP MacKenzie Gore made his Double-A debut on Saturday night in Frisco, as Amarillo cruised to a 9-0 win. Gore, ranked as the #3 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, pitched 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four hitters. He recorded the win in his Texas League debut. Gore, 20, who was drafted in the first round (3rd overall) of the 2017 MLB draft out of Whiteville High School in North Carolina, started the 2019 season with High-A Lake Elsinore. Over 15 starts this season, he held an impressive 7-1 record with a 1.02 ERA over 79.1 innings pitched. He allowed just 36 hits, nine earned runs and 20 walks with 110 strikeouts and holds a Minor League career record of 9-7 over 38 game starts with a 2.34 ERA. The southpaw was one of three Padres farmhands selected to participate in the 2019 MLB Futures Game and was a California League Mid-Season All-Star with two "Pitcher of the Week" bouts in April and May while with the Storm.

Starting Right: The Sod Poodles put together productive first innings in each of the three wins last week in Frisco. On Saturday night, Luis Torrens smashed a three-run homer to right field in the first inning as Amarillo cruised to a 9-0 win. On Friday night, Amarillo scored three in the opening frame. Ivan Castillo set the tone early in Thursday's win with a two-run homer in the first. In the finale, although the Soddies didn't score in the first, they did score one in the second and third innings.

Pitching Is On: The Sod Poodles have received stellar work from their pitching staff during the month of July. In 15 games during the month, the staff holds a 3.30 ERA in 131 innings of work. Starting pitchers have allowed just 21 ER in 70.1 innings during the span. Here's how starters have fared in the last 10 games: July 3: Lloyd - 7 IP, 0 ER, July 4: Bachar - 7.2 IP, 0 ER, July 5: Margevicius - 6 IP, 4 ER, July 6: Bolaños - 6.2 IP, 0 ER, July 7: Ramirez - 6 IP, 5 ER, July 8: Scholtens - 6 IP, 4 ER, July 9: Lloyd - 6 IP, 2 ER, July 10: Bachar - 7.0 IP, 0 ER; July 11: Margevicius - 6.0 IP, 1 ER; July 12: Morejon - 2 IP, 0 ER; July 13: Gore - 5.1 IP, 0 ER, July 14: Scholtens 5 IP, 5 ER; Morejon - 2 IP, 0 ER

Shut 'Em Out: Amarillo's 9-0 victory against Frisco on Saturday night marked the fourth time this season that the Soddies have shutout an opponent.

We Like This Place: The Sod Poodles are 11-6 against the Frisco RoughRiders this season and have played very well in Frisco, so far going 8-2 this season at Dr. Pepper Ballpark.

Brilliant Bolaños: Soddies righty Ronald Bolaños turned in a fantastic relief outing in Friday night's win, going seven strong innings of two-run ball. Bolaños holds a 2.79 ERA in 29 innings and struck out 37 over his last five outings.

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Texas League Stories from July 16, 2019


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