BRYAN, Texas — After dominantly winning game one against the Amarillo Sod Squad, the Brazos Valley Bombers fell 3-2 a night later.
In the series-evening matchup, the Bombers out-hit the visiting team but ultimately failed to bring their base runners home. Regardless of the night’s outcome, fans at Edible Field were treated to an evening of competitive baseball and $1 beer and soda, courtesy of the Bombers’ Thirsty Thursday.
Bombers head coach James Dillard quickly pointed out that this is a brand new team still at the very start of a new season.
“Every Bombers team is different,” Dillard said. “This year’s team has some strengths and weaknesses that last year’s didn’t have. We just have to figure each other out and what makes every guy tick. We’ll be fine.”
Both teams struggled to get things started offensively, combining for just two hits across the first three innings. The Sod Squad finally broke the scoring floodgates in the top of the fourth, using an infield grounder to send a runner home.
Amarillo tacked on two more in the top of the fifth, using multiple errors from the Bombers to secure a 3-0 lead. The Sod Squad threatened multiple more by loading the bases with zero outs, but pitcher Jack Brinley came in clutch to strike out two and end the inning.
Led by third baseman Casey Sunseri, the Bombers scratched off one from the Sod Squad’s lead. Sunseri hit a beautiful stand-up double to right field, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by center fielder Grayson Tatrow. Sunseri soon found home with the help of a balk by Amarillo’s relief pitcher, setting the new score at 1-3.
A late rally in the ninth allowed designated hitter Zane Schmidt to bring home Altman, but the surge wasn’t enough to secure the victory, ending the night with a final score of 2-3.
Even in defeat, the Bombers bullpen managed to record 12 strikeouts between four pitchers. Brinley and Joseph Menefee co-lead the night, retiring five batters each. Menefee maintained a perfect 0.000 ERA across three innings. Dillard said he is thankful for the consistency shown by the Bombers pitching rotation ten games into the season.
“It was encouraging to see those guys come out and do what they did,” Dillard said. “That’s huge.”
After Thursday’s homestand-ending loss, Brazos Valley falls to a 5-5 record while Amarillo climbs to 6-3 on the season. The two teams have now evenly split two consecutive two-game series against each other. Brazos Valley returns to action Saturday, June 11 when the navy and gold travels to Youngsville, LA, facing off against the Acadiana Cane Cutters for the first time this season. Dillard said going on the road for a few games may be a blessing in disguise for the team.
“It’ll be nice to get on the bus tomorrow and just spend some time together,” Dillard said. “We’ll figure it out and hopefully come back home as an even better ball club.”
