Sox drop third straight to close out series

Published on May 18, 2014 under American Association (AA)
Amarillo ThunderHeads News Release


The Winnipeg Goldeyes continued their dominance over the Amarillo Sox with an 8-4 win Sunday night in front of 3,113 fans at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium. The Sox drop to 1-3 on the young season, and are just 1-12 all-time against the Goldeyes.

As they did every game this series, the Goldeyes scored first in the opening frame when Ray Sadler's RBI single scored Tyler Kuhn off Sox starter Mike Nannini. Nannini was making his first professional appearance since 2008, when he pitched with Lancaster of the Atlantic League. Nannini would settle in, and get a double play to escape the first with a 1-0 deficit.

Winnipeg would up their lead to four when Jack Blackwood hit a three-run home run in the top of the third to put the Fish up 4-0. But Amarillo would get homer-happy themselves in the bottom half of the inning. The Sox pulled to within 4-3 on a three-run home run by Joe Weik, and then Cory Patton's solo shot tied the game going to the fourth.

Weik and Patton's home runs also marked the ceremonious end to the tradition known as "Green in the Screen." The tradition, which the Amarillo Globe-News cites as dating back to the 1930s, was abolished by the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball this off-season. Instead, Sox general manager Mark Lee collected the home run money in a bucket, with the Sox vowing to donate the same amount the players collected to the relief funds for those affected by the recent wildfire outbreak across the Texas Panhandle.

While the Sox tied the game after three innings, Nannini was unable to get a shut-down inning in the top half of the fourth. The Goldeyes plated runs on RBI singles by Ryan Pineda and Tyler Kuhn to retake a 6-4 lead.

The Sox would build a threat in the bottom of the fifth with leadoff singles by Josh Miller and Weik, but Winnipeg would turn to their bullpen in the form of Gabe Aguilar. The Goldeyes' bullpen was dominant for the fourth consecutive night, as Aguilar retired the next three batters. Winnipeg's bullpen would go on to throw five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks.

The Goldeyes would take on two more runs in the top of the sixth to pad their lead. Pineda would triple home Casey Haerther, and Jordan Guida then singled home Pineda.

The best Sox threat during the final innings came in the bottom of the ninth, when Jeff Farnham led off the inning with a walk. However, he was quickly erased when Lyndon Estill grounded into a double play. Jason Martin and Josh Miller would both reach base as part of a two-out rally, but Joe Weik flew out to leftfield to end the game.

Weik led the offensive attack with a 3-5 day, including the three-run homer. Josh Miller also had two hits while making his first start of the season at second base. Casey Beck, Kellen Moen, and Erik Draxton each threw one scoreless inning of relief for the Sox out of the bullpen. Nannini (0-1, 13.50) took the loss, while Aguilar (1-0, 0.00) got the win out of the bullpen for Winnipeg. The Sox open up a three game series Monday night against the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. The game will be the first Mulligans Monday of the season, where all fans will be invited to hang out with Sox players after the game at Mulligans Sports Pub.

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