Cecconi Goes Eight, Soddies Blanked As Series Evens

Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Sod Poodles were defeated 4-0 by the Frisco RoughRiders on Wednesday night, the fifth time Amarillo has been shut out this season.

Amarillo’s Slade Cecconi battled with Frisco’s Cole Ragans, but it was the RoughRiders that came on top in the 2-hour and 1-minute contest.

Both starting pitchers cruised through the first four innings and only allowed a combined two base runners. Cecconi took a perfect game into the 5th inning, striking out five RoughRiders through the first four.

The first baserunner for Frisco reached on a single line-drive single that hit Cecconi on the mound with one out in the 5th, and the RoughRiders broke the scoring open later in the inning on a two-run home run to left field.

Ragans carved through the Soddies tonight and struck out nine in 6.1 IP, tied for the most by an opposing pitcher this season. The Sod Poodles put two runners on through the first four innings and struck out six times, and got their first runner into scoring position in the 5th.

Ti’Quan Forbes led off the frame with a single, Amarillo’s second hit of the game, and advanced to second on a groundout. The batters after him went 1-2-3, leaving the Sod Poodles still searching for a run into the 6th.

The RoughRiders doubled their lead with two runs in the 7th. After the leadoff batter homered, a triple and an RBI single made it 4-0, Frisco. The Sod Poodles threatened with another runner in scoring position in the bottom of the frame, but a groundout ended the inning.

Despite the four earned runs, Cecconi pitched strong through the 8th inning. He struck out seven over 8.0 IP, the longest start by a Sod Poodle this season and the longest in his career. He threw 87 pitches and allowed five hits but was tagged with his third loss of the year.

Amarillo was out-hit 8-6 and put just two runners in scoring position. Forbes and Eduardo Diaz each had two hits, but 10 strikeouts kept the Sod Poodles at bay.

With the series tied 1-1, game three is set for tomorrow, Thursday, June 8 at 7:05 PM. RHP Bryce Jarvis (2-2, 6.44 ERA) will be on the mound to face RHP Zak Kent (1-5, 5.49 ERA) for Frisco.

Notes:

Iron Man: RHP Slade Cecconi went deep into tonight’s game and recorded the longest start by a Sod Poodle this season. His eight innings pitched also set a career-high, surpassing his seven innings pitched last year in High-A. Despite the loss, Cecconi was effective with seven strikeouts and just five hits. He has gone at least five innings in each of his last six starts, dating back to May 5.

Slow Roller: Amarillo was shut out for the fifth time this season. Their last time being shut out was on May 26 against the Arkansas Travelers, where they were out-scored 8-0 in both games of a doubleheader. The Sod Poodles have pitched a shutout just once this year, a 2-0 win over the Travelers the night before on May 25. The shutout came after back-to-back wire-to-wire victories on Sunday and Tuesday.

Web Gems: The Sod Poodles made a number of highlight defensive plays in the loss. Eduardo Diaz made a running grab on the warning track in left field that preserved Cecconi’s perfect game, at the time. Corbin Carroll flashed the leather in right field in the 7th inning with a leaping, over-the-shoulder grab, and Blaze Alexander teamed up with Drew Stankiewicz on a slick toss-and-turn for a double-play to end the inning.

Speed Poodles: Tonight’s 2-hour and 1-minute game was the fastest nine-inning game time in Sod Poodles franchise history. The previous HODGETOWN record was set earlier this season in a 2-hour and 11-minute contest on May 31 against Midland, and the shortest nine-inning road game was also 2 hours and 11 minutes on June 1, 2021, against Frisco.

Extenders: SS Blaze Alexander and OF Corbin Carroll both extended their active batting streaks in today’s game. Carroll recorded a hit in his sixth game in a row, three shy of his season-high nine-game hitting streak. Alexander was held hitless, but a walk in the 7th extended his on-base streak to 16 games, dating back to May 20.