Warren's Ninth-Inning HR Sends Dillas over Thunder, 9-8
July 1, 2010 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Amarillo Dillas News Release
AMARILLO, TX - Amarillo Dillas left fielder TJ Warren was 0-3 with three strikeouts going into the ninth inning, but that didn't matter because he hit a walkoff three-run homerun in the ninth inning to give the Dillas a 9-8 victory over the Coastal Bend Thunder on Thursday night in front of 2,731 fans at the Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa.
Dillas reliever Chris Nyman (2-2) got the win despite allowing a run in the ninth inning. Thunder closer Chad Lundhal (1-2) got the loss, allowing the homerun to Warren in the ninth.
The Thunder started the scoring in the first inning as Ron Fenwick hit a one-out single and was brought home on a Levy Ventura two-run homer for a two-run lead. They added another in the fourth as Albert Gonzales led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, went to third on a Dustin Smith single and scored on a Mike Goss RBI single for a 3-0 Coastal Bend lead.
Amarillo would score their first runs in the fifth as Sam Palace led off with a double and scored on a one-out 2-1 homerun to left field by Adam De La Garza for a one-run deficit. Daryl Jones led off in the sixth and pounded a 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for his fourth homerun to tie the game 3-3.
Coastal Bend retook the lead in the seventh as Gonzales hit an RBI single and Smith hit a bases loaded 2-RBI single to give the Thunder a 6-3 lead.
The Dillas were able to again tie the game in the bottom half as Jonathan Cisneros led off with a single, followed by a De La Garza single and a Joaquin Rodriguez hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Figueroa stepped in and sent the first pitch he saw to the left-center field gap to score all three base runners to tie the game 6-6.
The Thunder took the lead for the third time as Ventura walked and scored on a Brian Nichols RBI double for a one-run lead. They added another in the ninth as Fenwick singled in Mike Lewis for an 8-6 lead.
In the ninth, the Dillas started out with Figueroa hit a blooper to left field that fell in and moved him to second to lead off. Following a strikeout and a popout, Alberto Cruz worked a two-out walk and Warren stepped in. He hit the first pitch he saw down the left field line and over the wall for a walkoff three-run homerun to give the Dillas a 9-8 win. It was the only time the Dillas led all night.
With the win, the Dillas improve to 20-14, while the Thunder fall to 11-22. Friday, Amarillo will take on Coastal Bend for the second game of a four-game series at 7:05pm with the Aqua One Pre-Game Show set to begin at 6:50pm on AudioSportsOnline via www.myamarillodillas.com. Game time is tentative and is subject to blackout. Friday's game is free admission courtesy of Aflac.
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