TL1 Amarillo Sod Poodles

Sod Poodles Eleven Hits Not Enough in 8-3 Game One Loss to RockHounds

Published on September 5, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - The Sod Poodles dropped game one of the Texas League South Division Championship Series by a final score of 8-3 in front of 5,193 at HODGETOWN. Hudson Potts and Taylor Kohlwey led the Sod Poodles offensively, each going 2-for-4. Potts collected the first postseason home run in franchise history while Kohlwey totaled two doubles on the night. Owen Miller and Kyle Overstreet added a pair of singles as well.

Sod Poodles pitching struggled after four arms combined for a season-high 11 walks with runs converted on five of the walked batters. Soddies starter Lake Bachar tossed 2.2 innings and allowed five runs on four hits. Bachar struck out three Midland batters but picked up the loss in game one. Ramirez, Guerrero and Valdez combined for the remainder, only allowing two hits between but giving up seven walks.

The Midland RockHounds struck the board in the third inning with five runs on four hits. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Collin Theroux and Mickey McDonald. Chase Calabuig then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up to third and second base. Brallan Perez followed with a fly out to right field to give Amarillo two outs in the inning. With Nate Mondou at the plate, Bachar threw a wild pitch that allowed Theroux and McDonald to score on. After Mondou drew a walk, Taylor Motter hit a two-run home run to left field. Tyler Ramirez and Edwin Diaz extended the frame with a pair of singles to place runners on first and second base. The final run of the inning came when Greg Deichmann hit an RBI double to give the RockHounds the 5-0 advantage.

In the fourth inning, Calabuig worked a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Mondou hit a two-run home run to right field to extend the RockHounds lead to 7-0.

In the Sod Poodles fourth, Amarillo started to chip away at the Midland advantage when Hudson Potts crushed a solo home run to left field to make the score 7-1 and then plated another solo run in the fifth inning on Taylor Trammell's home run to right field to cut the Midland lead to 7-2.

In the seventh inning, Amarillo made it a 7-3 game after Taylor Kohlwey doubled to plate Overstreet, who singled to start the inning.

In the eighth inning, the RockHounds stretched their lead to 8-3 when they worked three walks to load the bases. The lone run of the inning came when Motter walked in a seven-pitch at-bat.

In the ninth, with five to chase, Amarillo went down in order, dropping game one of the five-game playoff series to the RockHounds.

The Sod Poodles continue the Texas League South Division series Thursday at HODGETOWN against the Midland RockHounds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

NOTES:

Game Two Preview: The Sod Poodles head into game two in the Texas League South Division Championship Series against the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, the Midland RockHounds, Thursday night in downtown Amarillo. First pitch at HODGETOWN is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The third game and fourth and fifth, if needed, will be played at Security Bank Ballpark in Midland.

Like They've Been There: Infielders Owen Miller, Hudson Potts, Kyle Overstreet, and Taylor Kohlwey collected multi-hit nights in the first postseason game of 2019. Kohlwey totaled two extra-base hits with an RBI on Wednesday.

Amarillo Playoff Franchise Firsts: Hudson Potts collected the Sod Poodles' first franchise home run in the postseason Wednesday night in game one at HODGETOWN. In the bottom of the first, Edward Olivares collected the first franchise playoff hit.

Too Many Free Passes: Amarillo arms allowed a season-high 11 walks to Midland batters. Five of the total amount of walks converted to a run. The highest amount Sod Poodles pitching allowed previously was 10 walks was on April 14 versus Corpus Christi.

Outhit L: The Sod Poodles dropped just their 19th game overall during 2019 when they outhit an opponent. Amarillo falls to a 60-19 record in the situation.

400K Reached: In the Sod Poodles 64th home game, HODGETOWN welcomed its 400,000th fan. Overall in the regular season, Amarillo's community gathering place saw a total of 427,611 fans. Amarillo ranked 2nd in attendance in all of Double-A and 24th in all of Minor League Baseball. Mixed with the playoff game, HODGETOWN has now seen 432,804 fans.

Facing Midland: The Sod Poodles finished the 2019 regular season against the Midland RockHounds with a record of 17-12. The Soddies held a record of 10-4 at HODGETOWN and at Security Bank Ballpark a record of 7-8. Amarillo was outscored by the RockHounds at HODGETOWN by one run 87-88.

A Man of Success: Sod Poodles manager Phillip Wellman has made the Texas League playoffs in 2017 and 2018 with the San Antonio Missions. In those two postseasons, Wellman holds a record of 5-8. In 2017 the Missions fell to the Midland RockHounds in five games. Midland eventually went on to be Texas League Champions when they defeated the Tulsa Drillers in five games. Last season Wellman led the Missions to the Texas League championship. Wellman defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks in five games but fell to the Tulsa Drillers in three straight games.

Soddies in the Postseason: The Sod Poodles have twelve names on their roster with previous playoff experience. Lake Bachar, Ivan Castillo, Edward Olivares, Owen Miller, Taylor Trammell, Kyle Overstreet, Hudson Potts, Buddy Reed, Luis Torrens, Peter Van Gansen, Taylor Kohlwey, and A.J. Kennedy. In 2018, Owen Miller batted .257 with a home run, two RBI, and two doubles. Peter Van Gansen went 7-for-16 (.343) with a home run, two RBI, and three doubles. Finally, Lake Bachar made two relief appearances where he tossed six innings. Bachar allowed one earned run and struck out eight batters.

Amarillo Playoff History: The last team from Amarillo to make the postseason was the 1981 Gold Sox managed by Eddie Watt. The Gold Sox were eliminated in the first round. The last team from Amarillo to win a Texas League championship was the 1976 Amarillo Gold Sox, who were also affiliated with the San Diego Padres.

If We Move Forward: If the Sod Poodles defeat the Midland RockHounds in the divisional round they will matchup against the winner of the Arkansas versus Tulsa series. The first two games would take place at HODGETOWN and the remained of the series would move to either Arkansas or Tulsa. Both the Divisional and Championship series are best of five.

72 Wins: The Sod Poodles ended their inaugural regular season with 72 total wins - the fourth-most in the Texas League in 2019.

40th Sellout: HODGETOWN saw 40 sellouts over the course of the 2019 season in 68 home games.

Hitting Stats: The Sod Poodles finished the regular season second in Double-A baseball with a .262 team batting average. Amarillo sits second in all of Double-A with 664 runs scored total.

Deja Vu: The Sod Poodles came into the final day of the second half in the same exact scenario as they were heading into the final day of the first half. On June 17, Amarillo had to win against Northwest Arkansas, which they did by a final score of 8-2, and Midland had to fall to Springfield, which they did by a final of 3-0, to clinch the first half. Despite Amarillo winning Monday, Midland also won their final regular-season game to clinch the second half.

56 Inaugural Players: In the Sod Poodles inaugural season so far, Amarillo has welcomed 56 different players - 21 position players and 35 pitchers. On Sunday, Jordan Guerrero and Trey Wingenter marked the 34th and 35th pitchers to appear and 55th and 56th players overall on the Amarillo all-time list.

Check out the Amarillo Sod Poodles Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Texas League Stories from September 5, 2019


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.

OurSports Central