Early Runs Enough In 6-2 Win To Open Series

San Antonio, TX – The Sod Poodles looked poised to score a plethora of runs in Nelson Wolff Stadium after using a four-run opening frame on Tuesday night. The four in the first and two more in the second would be all they would need or get to in a series-opening win over the San Antonio Missions who currently lead the Texas League South with 11 games remaining in the first half of the season.

Corbin Carroll got the evening started with a triple and later scored on a Jorge Barrosa single as the Soddies took the lead just four pitches into the game. It was just the start of the fun with the Sod Poodles using five hits in the inning, sending all nine in the order to the plate and scoring four runs for the early lead.

A fielding error allowed Barrosa to reach with one out in the second inning. Amarillo then kept the rally alive with two singles and was aided by another error, allowing two more runs to come across to make it a 6-1 after the team's second at-bats of the night.

The wind led to some struggles on the field for both teams, racking up four errors - two a piece - through the first three innings. The Missions pushed a run across in the first and the second innings to make it 6-2 after the third.

Sod Poodles' RHP Slade Cecconi got the start on the mound to open the series. The D-backs' No. 10 rated prospect made his first start since setting a new career & franchise-high with 8.0 IP last Wednesday against the Frisco RoughRiders. After seeing the first two runs of the game come across in the first two innings, Cecconi reigned in the Missions' lineup. The right-hander struck out four of his seven total on the night over four scoreless innings from the third on while allowing just five hits and did not issue a walk.

Cecconi finished the night with his third quality start in his last five outings, going another six strong, allowing just the two runs and his seven strikeouts. He worked around 10 Missions hits to keep the Sod Poodles in front for the wire-to-wire victory. The game turned into a true pitcher's duel between the two bullpen at that point.

For the Missions, Henry Henry threw three scoreless innings, working around just a couple of hits in relief of Thomas Eshelman who was tagged for six runs (four earned), on 11 hits in five frames.

For the Sod Poodles, Austin Pope was the first man out in relief of Cecconi and fired a scoreless inning. Cam Booser followed that up with a scoreless inning of his own before turning it over to one of the Soddies' closers, Blake Rogers.

Rogers struck out the leadoff man before issuing the only walk of the night for an Amarillo pitcher. A wild pitch and triple aided in scoring the first - and only - run of the game since the bottom of the second inning. Rogers then responded by getting a ground out and swinging strikeout to end the opening game. With the win, the Sod Poodles have gotten back to .500 on the year and are now just two games back of the Missions.

The Sod Poodles and Missions continue their series with game two scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch tomorrow, June 15 from Nelson Wolff Stadium. Amarillo will throw another highly ranked prospect in RHP Bryce Jarvis who is 2-2 with a 7.26 ERA on the year. The former first-round draft pick won Texas League Pitcher of the Week earlier this year and will be looking to help take a 2-0 series lead over the Padres Double-A affiliate.

Notes:

Water Sucks, Sladerade Is Better: Right-hander Slade Cecconi pitched his third Double-A quality start in his last five outings. The former No. 33 overall pick tied his season-high for strikeouts in a game, blowing seven by the Missions hitters tonight. Another huge plus was him not issuing any free bases. Without a walk issued on Tuesday, it was his first start since April 27 without surrendering a free pass. He has allowed just 14 earned runs over his last 36.0 IP, good for a 3.50 ERA dating back to his start on May 14 at Springfield.

Corbin Three Bags...Again: Carroll led off the game with a triple, his sixth of the year and second in as many games. The speedster entered the game leading the Texas League in triples, is now tied for first in all Double-A, and has now entered the MiLB leaderboard, being tied for 8th. The D-backs' No. 1 rated prospect and No. 4 in the minors (Baseball America) also extended his current hit streak to his season-long at 10 games. Over this streak, Carroll is hitting .488 (20-for-41) with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, nine RBI, and and 13 runs scored. It's currently the third-longest active hitting streak in Double-A.

Bullpen Bullies: The Sod Poodles bullpen fired yet another strong performance. RHP Austin Pope and LHP Cam Booser each pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout each and no hits allowed. Blake Rogers capped the game off with an inning of work where he did allow a run but also struck out two and left a man stranded. Booser hasn't allowed a run over his last two games (3.0 IP). The Sod Poodles bullpen has had eight scoreless outings combined dating back to May 31 against Midland (13 games).

*Early Work: *The Sod Poodles' bats gave the pitchers all the run support they would need in the first two innings. After scoring four and batting around in the first inning, the offense plated another two, and that was all that was needed on a gusty night. The Soddies have now scored 72 runs in the first and second inning this year.

McGlovin: Amarillo committed two errors in the game, ending a streak of four complete games without an error. Each team on Tuesday had a pair of errors and Amarillo has committed 48 errors on the year while opponents have booted or thrown away 56 balls through 58 games.

It Ain't Talladega, But We'll Take .500: The Sod Poodles are back to .500 on the year at 29-29. It's the first time being at .500 since being 18-18 back on May 19 with a 10-5 win over the Tulsa Drillers. The Sod Poodles have won 9-of-13 to claw back to tie for second in the Texas League South Division with the RoughRiders who dropped their opening game against the Midland RockHounds at Riders Field earlier today.