AMARILLO, Texas (July 8, 2025) — In a game filled with momentum swings, clutch hitting, and late-inning drama, the Frisco RoughRiders edged the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-7 in 10 innings on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. The victory marked Frisco’s third win in extra innings this season and improved the club to 5-8 in the second half (43-38 overall), while Amarillo dropped to 7-6 in the second half (39-43 overall).

It was a slow start for the RoughRiders, who quickly found themselves in a 4-0 hole after a second-inning surge by the Sod Poodles. Jose Fernandez opened the scoring with an RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly from Ivan Melendez, and a two-run home run off the bat of Caleb Roberts to complete a four-run frame.

However, Frisco began to chip away in the third inning. Ian Moller, one of the hottest bats in the lineup of late, launched a solo homer — his fourth of the season — to get the Riders on the board. Moments later, Aaron Zavala flared an RBI single to cut the deficit in half at 4-2.

Amarillo answered with a solo homer from Tommy Troy in the fifth to extend their lead to 5-2, but the RoughRiders weren’t done. In the top of the sixth, Frisco worked the bases loaded before Jax Biggers drew a walk to force in a run. Moller then beat out an infield single to bring in another, narrowing the score to 5-4.

Momentum firmly shifted in the seventh. Josh Hatcher came through with a game-tying single, and Luis Mieses followed with a go-ahead RBI single to give Frisco its first lead of the night at 6-5.

Amarillo refused to fold, however. In the bottom of the eighth, Melendez delivered his second sacrifice fly of the evening to knot the game at 6-6. With the game hanging in the balance, Larson Kindreich held the Sod Poodles to a single run in a high-pressure inning to preserve the tie.

Frisco reclaimed the lead for good in the 10th. Biggers, again playing the hero, punched a broken-bat RBI single into shallow right to score the automatic runner and make it 7-6. Sod Poodles reliever Gerardo Gutierrez then issued an intentional walk to Zavala before losing command, walking Sebastian Walcott to plate an insurance run and extend the lead to 8-6.

Amarillo kept things tight in the bottom half, as Fernandez notched his second RBI of the night to trim the lead to 8-7. With runners on second and third and two outs, Frisco closer Gavin Collyer locked in and struck out Roberts on three pitches, earning his eighth save of the season — second-most in the Texas League.

Game Notes:

• Gerardo Carrillo (1-1) earned his first win for Frisco with a scoreless ninth inning.

• The Riders improved to 3-2 in extra-inning contests and 13-12 in one-run games, showing resilience in tight situations.

• Ian Moller continued his scorching stretch, going 2-for-4 and raising his average to .395 (17-for-43) over his last 12 games — fourth-best in the Texas League during that span.

• Frisco went 7-for-13 with runners in scoring position, their highest average with RISP this season (min. 10 at-bats).

• Collyer’s eighth save places him second in the Texas League and underscores the RoughRiders’ strong bullpen, which has helped the club tally 26 saves this season, tied for fourth-most in Minor League Baseball.

The series continues Wednesday night at HODGETOWN with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. The RoughRiders have yet to announce a starting pitcher, while the Sod Poodles will send right-hander Jonatan Bernal (1-1, 3.77 ERA) to the mound.