Thunder Rolls in the Ninth

July 5, 2009 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Amarillo Dillas News Release


AMARILLO, TX - Amarillo Dillas pitchers Jesse Rodriguez and Andy Noonan held the Coastal Bend Thunder to four hits thorough eight innings but a four-run ninth gave Coastal Bend a 4-3 victory over the Dillas on Sunday night in front of 1,982 fans at the Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa.

Amarillo reliever Matt Smith (1-1) got the loss as he gave up all four runs in the ninth inning, while Thunder reliever Alex Gett (2-1) got the win in an inning and a third of scoreless relief.

Amarillo would take an early lead in the second inning as Trent Lockwood walked, went to third on an Andrew Wong single and scored on a pass ball to take a 1-0 lead.

The Dillas would extend the lead in the third as Brian Bueno walked, went to second on a Keanon Simon sacrifice, to third on a Rafael Ozuna groundout and scored on a Carlos Figueroa single to move Amarillo up by the score of 2-0.

Rodriguez wouldn't need much more than that as he retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced and allowed only two hits before leaving after the sixth inning.

Amarillo would add an insurance run in the seventh inning as Simon singled, went to second on an Ozuna walk and scored on Figueroa's second RBI for a 3-0 lead.

Dillas reliever Andy Noonan came in and pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, but Smith started the ninth by hitting Dustin Smith, allowing a Mike Goss single and a three-run homerun by Leivi Ventura to tie the game. Manny Mejia doubled to knock out Smith, while Coby Mavroulis came in and got a double play ball that should have ended the inning, but the out at third was not made to score Mejia from third to give the Thunder a 4-3 lead.

Thunder closer Benny Cepeda pitched a perfect ninth for his third save to give Coastal Bend the win.

With the loss, the Dillas improve to 13-11, while the Thunder improve to 13-11. Monday, Amarillo will travel to Harlingen to face the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings for the first game of a four-game series at 7:05pm Game time is tentative and is subject to blackout.

For more information on the Dillas, ticket information or on Sunday's game, contact the Dillas' office at (806) 342-0400 or visit MyAmarilloDillas.com.

The Amarillo Dillas Baseball Club is a charter member of United League Baseball, a Professional Independent League, with six teams playing in Texas. ULB teams are located in Amarillo, Coastal Bend, Edinburg, Harlingen, Laredo, and San Angelo.



United League Baseball Stories from July 5, 2009


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