The Amarillo Sod Poodles (8-11) outlasted the San Antonio Missions (5-14) in an 8-7 thriller Friday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium, capping a back-and-forth contest with late-game heroics.
Amarillo seized early momentum in the third inning, taking advantage of control issues from San Antonio starter Fernando Sanchez. Back-to-back walks to Junior Franco and Druw Jones set the stage for aggressive baserunning, as the duo executed a double steal. That pressure paid off when Cristofer Torin delivered a two-run single to give the Sod Poodles the initial edge.
San Antonio responded in the fourth, ending Jose Cabrera’s early dominance. Ethan Salas sparked the rally with his first home run of the season, and additional offense followed to even the score. From there, the game evolved into a back-and-forth battle, with both teams exchanging runs through the middle innings.
The Missions briefly grabbed control in the fifth, but Amarillo answered in the sixth on an RBI single from Gavin Logan. San Antonio regained the lead once again in the bottom half, highlighted by Tirso Ornelas driving in another run.
The Sod Poodles appeared to take command in the seventh, erupting for four runs fueled by a string of extra-base hits. However, the Missions refused to fade, answering with a multi-run inning of their own to knot the game at 7-7.
After a scoreless eighth inning on both sides, Amarillo delivered the decisive blow in the ninth. Jansel Luis led off with a double and advanced to third before Danny Serretti pushed a ground ball through the infield to plate the go-ahead run.
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