RoughRiders Fall Short against the Sodpoodles May 17, 2019

RoughRiders fall short 7-5

It was a tough night at Dr. Pepper Ballpark as the RoughRiders fall short to the Sodpoodles. It was a beautiful night in Frisco for the Game of Thrones House of Roosevelt night. The RoughRiders were facing off against the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the 2nd of a 4 game set.

It was a quiet game through the first four innings. Payano was in the groove, retiring first 9 batters he faced in order, striking out 4 of them.? He allowed a single in the fourth inning and the runner advanced to third via a passed ball and stolen based. Luckily Payano was able to shut down the next three batters and escape the inning unscathed.

The bottom of the fourth proved to be a fruitful inning for the Rough Riders.

Preston Beck put the Riders on the board with his 7th homer of the year to Right Center field, landing in the grass seating to the left of the lazy river. This home run was immediately followed by a deep home run to left field, his 3rd of the year.

Unfortunately for Payano and the RoughRiders, the lead did not last long, with Payano giving up 4 runs off of four hits and a walk in the top of the fifth. Lead off walks usually spell trouble for teams, and it was no different for Payano last night. The lead off batter came around to score 2 batters later. 3 singles and a double later, the RoughRiders found themselves 2 runs in the hole.

The top of the 6th

Proved to be more of the same, with Payano letting the first 2 men on, via a single and a hit by pitch. These two inevitably came around to score on a double to right field by Torrens. After giving up another run on a fielders choice, Payano came out of the game and Bass came in. He quickly finished up the inning, but not without another man coming around. All 7 runs were charged to Payano.

The Roughriders had a 7-2 hole to dig themselves out of, and they started to chip away at it over the next couple of innings. They got one back in the bottom of the sixth, were quiet in the 7th. Then the 8th rolled around, and the Rough Riders were in a rally kind of mood. De Leon and Profar singled back to back, setting up runners at the corners. A double by Cordero drove in De Leon and left runners at 2nd and 3rd. A single by Leblanc drove in another and left runners at the corners again. Alvarez drew a walk to load the bases with 1 out. Amarillo then brought in their closer, Munoz who shut down any hopes of a comeback immediately, striking Sanchez and getting Davis to ground into a fielders choice.

He also sent down the Rough Riders in order in the bottom of the 9th, ending the game with the riders 2 runs shy.

While it was a rough night for the Rides, there was a bright side to the game.

That bright side was Cordero.

He went 4-4 with 2 doubles, a single, and a Home Run. During this game alone, he raised his batting average over 20 points, raising it from .264 to .286. Hopefully this game is a confidence boost and he can stay in this zone, because it mean great things for the Riders.?