Late Runs Help Sod Poodles Take Series Finale, Split Series With Midland 

AMARILLO, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles bounced back from a three-game skid to take the sixth and final game of their opening homestand against the Midland RockHounds on Sunday afternoon. Timely hitting and some defensive highlights propelled the Sod Poodles to the 6-3 win and the series split.

The Sod Poodles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a leadoff double off the bat of Stone Garrett who made his way home following a Jose Herrera single.

The RockHounds tied the game and looked like they might do even more damage in the top of the third inning. Soddies starter Ryan Weiss gave up a run for the first time in 14 innings after a leadoff single followed by back-to-back walks loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly plated the tying run and left a pair of runners still aboard. A pop up into shallow center field provided the perfect opportunity for D-backs' No. 3 ranked prospect Geraldo Perdomo to show why he is regarded as the best defensive prospect in the Arizona farm system.

After drifting into the outfield and battling the sun and wind, Perdomo reached over his shoulder to make the catch before firing the ball to home plate and gunning down Devin Foyle trying to give Midland the lead.

Midland appeared to take a two-run lead after a Chase Calabuig fly ball into left field was ruled a home run. Garrett, who was in left field, was adamant that the ball went foul as was Weiss and Sod Poodles manager Shawn Roof who asked the umpires to talk about the call. After a brief discussion the umpires changed the call to a foul ball and the game remained tied into the sixth.

Matt Gage relieved Weiss and gave up three hits, including the first earned run allowed in six appearances on the season. A leadoff home run in the top of the seventh cut the Sod Poodles lead in half at 4-2. Gage got into a bit of trouble, allowing the home run before a single and hit batter put two runners aboard for the RockHounds. Gage was replaced by Chester Pimentel who issued a walk of his own to load the bases with two outs. Pimentel buckled down and earned the strikeout of Jonah Bride to strand the potential tying or go ahead runs.

Newest Sod Poodle Mikey Reynolds gave Amarillo a 4-1 lead after hitting his first home run with the club. He was signed to a minor league deal by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday and assigned to Amarillo on Thursday prior to making his Sod Poodle debut on Friday. Reynolds has already made an impact in his short time, going 4-for-12 with a double, home run and six RBI in his three games this series.

The Sod Poodles added two more insurance runs in the eighth inning off doubles from Garrett and Alek Thomas to put the Soddies up 6-2. Midland added one of their own in the ninth and once again sent the tying-run to the plate. A fly ball into foul territory right in front of the Midland bullpen was hauled in by a sliding D.J. Burt to end the game and gave the Soddies the series split.

The Sod Poodles will now hit the road for another 12-game road trip to Corpus Christi and then to face Frisco. All of the road games can be heard on KIXZ-940 AM with Sam Levitt on the call.

NOTES:

Up And Down: Ryan Weiss made his second start in this series, tossing 4.2 IP, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts. The right-hander has allowed one run over his last 16.2 IP on just four hits while racking up 19 strikeouts.

Double Bogey: D-backs No. 3 ranked prospect Geraldo Perdomo showed why he has been named the best defensive prospect in the system. He kept the game tied following his highlight double play in the third inning. Perdomo tracked down a shallow fly ball into center field before firing it home to catch the Midland runner trying to tag up from third. The Sod Poodles turned two double plays today, tying their team-high.

Hit It OB: There was some confusion surrounding Chase Calabuig's foul ball in the fourth inning. The ball tracked into the left field corner and was originally called a home run before the umpires got together and correctly changed it to a foul ball. The home run would have given Midland a two-run lead.

3 Stoke Lead:Mikey Reynolds gave the Sod Poodles a three-run lead after his first home run of the season made a landing in Bar 352 over the left-field wall. Reynolds finished the series 4-for-12 with a double, home run and six RBI*. *

Out Of The Rough: After a leadoff home run for the RockHounds in the seventh to cut the lead in half, Chester Pimentel walked a batter to load the bases before striking out Jonah Bride to get out of the jam.

On In Two: After going 2-for-32 with runners in scoring position in the last four games, the Sod Poodles went 4-for-7 today.

In The Cup: The chase for the Oil-Pan cup continues in 2021 after the Sod Poodles took the inaugural 2019 season race 17-12. The Oil-Pan Cup is a season-long rivalry series between Amarillo and Midland. Currently, the series in 2021 between the squads stands at 3-3 after their first six-game series.