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BOX SCORE

Amarillo, TX-After trailing the Sox 6-0 through the first two innings, the Explorers scored a season-high in runs with a 17-8 victory Sunday night at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium.

In the Texas Panhandle heat, Sioux City (18-26) fell behind 4-0 after one and trailed 6-0 after two. The Explorers started on the comeback trail when they cut the lead in half with three in the top of the third. Dillon Usiak led off the inning with a walk. Todd Jennings singled to left. A sac bunt from Tom Mendonca moved runners to second and third. Oscar Mesa hit a sac fly that drove in the first run. Tim Colwell (pictured) followed with a single to left that scored Jennings. Colwell later scored on a single by Andres Perez and it was 6-3. In the fourth, the Explorers made it 6-5 with a two-run home run by Dillon Usiak that also scored Amos Ramon. Ramon had led off with an infield single.

It was the sixth inning that propelled Sioux City into the lead, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night. Dillon Usiak reached on a walk and scored on Todd Jennings’ first home run of the season for a 7-6 X’s lead. Oscar Mesa walked and scored on a single to center by Tim Colwell. Later in the sixth, Rene Tosoni smacked a two-run home run of his own for a 10-6 advantage. After Andres Perez tripled and Peter Barrows drove him in with a ground out, Sioux City had an 11-6 cushion.

Sioux City added to its lead in the seventh. With two outs, the Explorers scored four times in the inning. Two of those runs came on Rene Tosoni’s second home run of the night. Amarillo (16-26) plated two runs in the bottom of the inning that made it 15-8. The X’s were not done scoring until after their half of the ninth. They scored twice in the last frame for the game’s final margin.

It was the first time this season the Explorers came back to win a game in which they trailed by three runs or more. A total of ten pitchers were used, five by each side. Geoff Broussard picked up the win in relief for Sioux City. Broussard (3-1) went three-and-two-thirds and gave up two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Jordan Egan took the loss for Amarillo. Egan (0-1) worked one-and-a-third and allowed six earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks. He also surrendered two homers.

At the plate, the Explorers matched a season-high with 17 hits. They also set a season-high with four home runs. Tim Colwell led the hit parade with a 5-for-6 performance. He scored four runs and drove in four. Andres Perez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Rene Tosoni was 3-for-6 with the two homers, three runs and five RBIs.

Sioux City continues its road trip in Texas Monday night with game one of a three-game series at Grand Prairie. First pitch is set for 7:05. Following the series with the AirHogs, the Explorers return home to face Wichita July 3^rd through 5^th. For ticket information and promotion specials at Lewis & Clark Park, call 712-277-WINS or visit the Explorers website at www.xsbaseball.com.