The Amarillo Sod Poodles (7-11) defeated the San Antonio Missions (5-13), 7-5, on Thursday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium. With the bats hot, the Sod Poodles took game three of the series, winning five of their last seven games.
San Antonio struck first after Angel Ortiz singled to lead off, and a bases-loaded walk gave the Missions a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Amarillo answered in the second inning with Junior Franco tying the game on an RBI double that scored Gavin Conticello. Jesus Valdez added another RBI double and Gavin Logan followed with a run-scoring hit, while Jansel Luis capped the four-run frame with an RBI single to make it 4-1.
San Antonio responded in the third as Tirso Ornelas drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Ryan Jackson added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Both offenses traded blows in the fifth inning, with Franco delivering another RBI hit for Amarillo. However, Leandro Cedeno tripled and Braedon Karpathios singled to bring San Antonio level at 5-5.
The decisive moment came in the sixth when Amarillo opened with three straight hits, capitalizing on a pitching error to score twice and regain a 7-5 advantage.
The bullpens held firm through the seventh and eighth innings to preserve the score. Casey Anderson closed the game in the ninth inning, striking out two batters in his first save opportunity of the season as Amarillo secured the win and took a 2-1 series lead.
The victory marked continued improvement for Amarillo, which has now won five of its last seven games and continues building momentum in the early part of the season as it prepares for the series finale in San Antonio on Friday night. Amarillo looks to extend the streak behind strong pitching and timely hitting.
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