Amarillo Shutout In Series Finale At Corpus Christi

*Corpus Christi, Texas *—The Sod Poodles dropped the final game of this opening 12-game road trip to Corpus Christi by a score of 7-0 on Sunday night. The Sod Poodles dropped five-of-six to the Hooks in their first trip of the year to Whataburger Field in 2021.

Sod Poodles starter Tyler Holton made his second appearance in this series, tossing four scoreless frames in tonight's loss in which he allowed just two hits and added five strikeouts. Holton tossed two innings of relief in the opening game of the series, allowing seven runs on six hits.

Amarillo managed to get at least one runner aboard in each of the first five innings, but failed to get anyone past second base. Included in those base runners was a new addition to the Amarillo roster in catcher Michael De La Cruz. He notched his first hit, a double in the fifth, since being activated from the injured list prior to yesterday's game. Brandyn Sittinger tossed one inning of relief of Holton in the fifth, retiring the Hooks in order.

The Sod Poodles appeared to get out of the first real scoring threat by Corpus Christi when the middle infield combo of DJ Burt and Geraldo Perdomo turned a slick glove flip turn behind second base that looked to be a double play and send the Soddies to bat in the top of the seventh. However, Perdomo missed the bag at second and only got the batter out at first to keep runners on second and third. Soddies right-hander Jeff Bain issued a walk to load the bases and then another walk pushed the first run of the game across the plate.

Another two runs scored on a two-out single that pushed the Corpus lead to 3-0 after six.

Corpus tacked on another pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh after a two-run home run from Hooks left fielder Norel Gonzalez off Justin Vernia who replaced Bain for the final out of the sixth.

Justin Lewis was the fifth pitcher of the night for Amarillo, allowing two runs of four hits, extending the Hooks lead to 7-0. Chester Pimentel made his eighth appearance of the season to get the final out of the bottom of the eighth.

The Sod Poodles were held to just four hits in the loss and will now look to turn things around when they start their new series against the Frisco RoughRiders starting Tuesday.

Notes:

Fresh Start: Amarillo starter Tyler Holton had a much better experience at Whataburger Field in his second go around. After allowing seven runs (6 earned) in two innings on Tuesday night, Holton got the start tonight and tossed four scoreless frames. The southpaw lowered his ERA from 14.94 to 9.95 after tonight's performance.

What Could Have Been: The momentum of the game flipped following DJ Burt and Geraldo Perdomo's combined 4-6-3 fielder's choice. Burt made a slick backhanded glove flip behind second base to Perdomo who just missed second base for what would have been the inning-ending double play. Corpus took the first lead of the game two batters later.

On The Road Again: After dropping five-of-six in Corpus Christi, the Sod Poodles will continue their road trip, starting a six game series against division-leading Frisco on Tuesday June 1st.

Turn It Over: The Sod Poodles end the opening month of the season with a 11-13 record including three shutout losses. Hopefully a new month can breathe some offensive life into the lineup.

Hit The Showers: The Sod Poodles had three members tossed from games during the series, the first three Sod Poodles ejected in 2021. Jose Herrera was ejected in the opening game of the series while Amarillo manager Shawn Roof saw his night come to an early end the following night. Tonight, Stone Garrett was ejected in the top of the eighth from the dugout after DJ Burt's strikeout.

Mike of All Trades: Mikey Reynolds made his first appearance in the outfield after Stone Garrett's ejection. Reynolds had started seven games in the infield so far with the Sod Poodles before his outfield work tonight.

France Fried: Hooks reliever JP France tossed four perfect innings of relief in tonight's win. Striking out seven Sod Poodles hitters.