SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Interstat) — Ashton Izzi pitched six strong innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts, as the Amarillo Sod Poodles defeated the Springfield Cardinals 6-2 on Saturday at Hammons Field. The win evened the series after Springfield’s 18-3 blowout Friday night.

Amarillo scored three runs in the first inning on RBI by Jansel Luis and Druw Jones. The Sod Poodles added a run in the third and two more in the fifth, keyed by run-scoring singles from Jack Hurley and a walk drawn by Gavin Logan. Springfield got a solo home run from Trey Paige in the second and a Jon Jon Gazdar homer in the seventh, but could not overcome the early deficit.

Izzi improved to 3-2, while Springfield starter Chen-Wei Lin fell to 1-3 after allowing three earned runs over four innings. Domenic Picone threw 2 2/3 hitless innings for the Cardinals, striking out five. Amarillo (30-31) and Springfield (27-34) conclude their series Sunday. Attendance was 4,671, and the game lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes.