Corpus Christi, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles won the first game in franchise history on Friday night at Whataburger Field, edging past the Corpus Christi Hooks 7-5 in front of 4,568 fans.
Corpus Christi, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles won the first game in franchise history on Friday night at Whataburger Field, edging past the Corpus Christi Hooks 7-5 in front of 4,568 fans.
Amarillo orchestrated a five-run third inning against Corpus Christi lefty Brett Adcock (0-1) to get the scoring started. After loading the bases, Luis Torrens hit a two-run double to left field to give the Sod Poodles a 2-0 edge. Moments later, Jorge Oña lofted a soft liner down the right field line to bring in two more runs.
Brad Zunica, who belted a home run on Opening Night, drilled an RBI double to deep centerfield to score Oña as Amarillo jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
Sod Poodles right-hander Jesse Scholtens tossed two scoreless innings to begin his outing before allowing the Hooks to get right back in the game during the bottom of the third. Scholtens walked the leadoff batter and later walked Stephen Wrenn to put two runners aboard.
With two outs, Scholtens induced a pop up to the middle of the infield off the bat of Granden Goetzman. All four infielders converged, but none caught it as the ball dropped in between them. Both runners scored to make it 5-2. Abraham Toro then ripped a two-run double to cut Amarillo's lead to 5-4.
With the score still 5-4, Amarillo's bullpen took over. Blake Rogers (1-0) entered and spun a pair of scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth.
After Trevor Megill pitched a scoreless sixth, the Sod Poodles generated another run with Matthew Batten's one-out triple and an RBI single from Buddy Reed against Corpus Christi righty Carson LaRue, who allowed two runs in five innings out of the Hooks' bullpen.
Amarillo led 6-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh, when Megill allowed a run-scoring sac fly to J.J. Matijevic to make it a 6-5 ballgame.
After Dauris Valdez pitched a scoreless eighth, Zunica's tremendous start continued with a solo home run over the right field fence in the top of the ninth. His second home run in as many nights provided insurance, putting Amarillo ahead 7-5.
Hard throwing right-hander Andres Muñoz entered the game out of the Sod Poodles' bullpen in the ninth, aiming to secure the first win in Amarillo's team history.
With one out, Muñoz hit Osvaldo Duarte. After striking out Ronnie Dawson, he walked Wrenn. With the tying runs on-base, Muñoz bounced back to strike out Matijevic and end the ballgame, picking up his first save of the season.
Amarillo's bullpen provided a combined six innings while allowing just a single run.
The Sod Poodles and Hooks continue their four-game set on Saturday evening at Whataburger Field. First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. Corpus Christi sends right-hander Brandon Bailey to the hill, while Amarillo counters with righty Pedro Avila.
You can hear the game on 940 AM KIXZ or via various streaming options for mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms. Sam Levitt has the play-by-play call.
