Amarillo spent the late innings dragging itself back from the edge, first with a three-run eighth and again with Druw Jones’ tying single in the ninth. Each time, the Sod Poodles gave themselves a chance to take control. Each time, the last 90 feet proved too far.
Frisco reclaimed the lead on a wild pitch in the 10th, and Amarillo left the tying run at third in an 8-7 loss Tuesday night at Hodgetown in the opening game of the playoffs.
The Sod Poodles’ final chance began with Alberto Barriga at second. Jean Walters’ sacrifice bunt moved him to third, and an intentional walk to Danny Serretti put runners at the corners with one out. Jonathan Brand escaped by getting Cristofer Torin and Avery Owusu-Asiedu on fly balls to right.
That ending followed an even larger opportunity in the ninth. Owusu-Asiedu reached on a force out and moved to second when Angel Ortiz walked. Jones then chopped a hard grounder inside third and into left field, bringing Owusu-Asiedu home as the Hodgetown crowd erupted over a 7-7 tie.
A walk to Ben McLaughlin loaded the bases with one out, putting the winning run 90 feet away. Josh Trentadue struck out Gavin Logan before Brand entered and struck out Barriga, pushing the game to extras.
Frisco’s automatic runner, Max Wagner, advanced to third on Luke Hanson’s bunt single in the 10th. Carlos Rey struck out Dylan Dreiling and had Rafe Perich at the plate when a wild pitch sent Wagner home with the deciding run. Rey struck out Perich on a foul tip to end the inning, finishing with two strikeouts and no earned runs despite taking the loss.
Amarillo had needed both late rallies because Frisco repeatedly reopened the distance.
The Sod Poodles trailed 3-0 after Gleider Figuereo and Paxton Kling homered off Junior Sanchez in the second. Barriga doubled in the third and scored on Torin’s two-out liner to center, but Frisco answered in the fourth when Wagner drove in Malcolm Moore.
McLaughlin kept Amarillo close with a towering solo homer to right-center in the bottom of the fourth. The ball cleared the wall 420 feet from home plate, beginning a night in which he reached in all five plate appearances. McLaughlin finished 1-for-1 with three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Owusu-Asiedu cut the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth, sending another solo drive toward the right-field berm. That margin held until Frisco broke through against Tayler Montiel in the eighth.
With the bases loaded and one out, Marcus Lee Sang ripped a liner to left that got past Ortiz and rolled to the wall. Moore and Kling scored, and Perich later singled home Wagner for a 7-3 lead. Montiel was charged with three earned runs in one inning.
Amarillo responded without a clean path through the inning. Owusu-Asiedu walked, Ortiz singled and the Sod Poodles eventually loaded the bases. A run scored before a grounder from Carlos Virahonda kicked off Perich’s glove at third, allowing Ortiz to come home. Walters followed with a sacrifice fly that scored McLaughlin and moved the tying run to third, cutting the deficit to 7-6 before Serretti struck out.
The Sod Poodles had erased four runs from the margin in two innings, but the same problem ended both rallies: They stranded the bases loaded in the ninth and left Barriga at third in the 10th.
Sanchez allowed three earned runs over 3 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out two. Three Amarillo relievers combined to keep Frisco scoreless from the remainder of the fourth through the seventh, giving the lineup time to answer.
Kling led Frisco’s offense by going 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and a hit-by-pitch. Amarillo finished with seven runs on seven hits, a line that captured the night neatly: enough offense to keep coming back, but one run short of finishing the job.