Sod Poodles Drop Friday Night Tilt

Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Sod Poodles (22-27) dropped game four to the Midland RockHounds (23-26) on Friday night by a final score of 8-6. The Sod Poodles won the first two games of the series and the RockHounds have taken the last two.

Midland hopped onto the scoreboard first with a run in the 1st inning. Soddies starter Bryce Jarvis (2-2) walked the first two batters and one scored on a bang-bang play at the plate on a fielder’s choice. Jarvis recorded the final two outs with runners on the corners to escape the inning.

Amarillo immediately took the lead from Midland with four runs off of five hits in the bottom of the 1st. Corbin Carroll led off the frame with a bunt single for the Sod Poodles, and Eduardo Diaz scored him on an RBI double off the left-field wall.

Leandro Cedeño then put runners at the corners with a single, and Ti’Quan Forbes scored Diaz with an RBI double. Blaze Alexander brought Cedeño home with an RBI single, and Dalesandro plated the fourth run with a sacrifice fly.

With a new 4-1 lead, Jarvis retired the side in the 2nd. He walked two and allowed a single to load the bases with no outs in the 3rd, but struck out the next three batters to get out of the jam.

Midland scored two more runs off of Jarvis in the top of the 4th. He allowed a one-out double – just his second hit allowed in the game – and a two-out, two-run home run cut the Amarillo lead to 4-3. The homer ended Jarvis’ night at 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 6 K on a season-high 88 pitches. Keegan Curtis relieved him to end the inning.

After the four-run 1st, Midland starter Jack Cushing retired 10 Sod Poodles in a row until Andy Yerzy singled in the 4th. Cushing continued to deal all the way through the 7th inning, and the RockHounds offense aided him by taking the lead in a three-run 6th.

Curtis gave up the lead on a two-out, two-run home run to Max Schuemann, his second HR of the game. Curtis was replaced by Brett de Geus after the homer, who surrendered an RBI single that gave Midland a 6-4 lead.

Blaze Alexander cut into the lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th, but Midland pulled away with back-to-back solo shots of their own in the top of the 9th.

Trailing 8-5 in the bottom of the 9th, the Sod Poodles scored one and brought the tying run to the plate. Drew Stankiewicz launched a solo home run to cut the lead to two, and Jorge Barrosa drew a two-out walk to put a threat on the bases. The game ended on a strikeout with Barrosa at second base.

Midland out-hit Amarillo for the fourth game in a row, 11-9. Blaze Alexander led the way with three hits and two RBI, and Jorge Barrosa drew three walks. The pitching staff struck out 11 and held the RockHounds to just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

The Sod Poodles won the first two games of the series and Midland has won the last two, setting up a pivotal game five tomorrow, Saturday, June 4 at HODGETOWN with first pitch at 7:05 PM. Deyni Olivero (0-4, 8.89 ERA) will take the start for Amarillo to face Midland’s Colin Peluse (5-1, 5.86 ERA).

Notes:

*Extendo Patronum: *Blaze Alexander and Ti’Quan Forbes each extended their batting streaks in tonight’s game. Alexander singled in the first inning to give him a hit in each of his last five games and extended his on-base streak to 13 games. Forbes doubled in the first to extend his hitting streak to six and his RBI streak to five games in a row.

Have A Night: While extending his streaks, Blaze Alexander came just one hit shy of the cycle tonight. He singled in the first, doubled in the 6th,and launched a 430-ft home run in the 8th inning, finishing just a triple shy of the milestone. Tonight’s game was one of his best of the year, tying his season-high with three hits in his second multi-RBI effort.

Drew’s Clues: INF Drew Stankiewicz went yard in the 9th inning of tonight’s game, a 412-foot solo shot to left field. It was his third home run of the year and first since May 19. In the series, Stankiewicz has now scored two runs with a double, home run, and two walks.

*Four Square: * The Sod Poodles put up four runs in the 1st inning tonight, their 10th time scoring four in a frame this season and their 76th multi-run inning of the year. The opening-inning runs were a welcome sight, as Amarillo has only scored 24 runs in the 1st this season, the fewest of any inning (excluding extras).

Oil Pan Cup: With the loss, the Sod Poodles fall behind Midland in the 2022 race for the Oil Pan Cup, 7-6. The Cup is awarded to the team that wins the head-to-head series matchup. Amarillo took the lead after winning the first two games of the series and Midland reclaimed it with back-to-back wins. Both franchises have won the Oil Pan Cup once in their three-year rivalry.

*Swing And A Miss: *The Sod Poodles pitching staff collected 11 strikeouts tonight, the 19th time this season the unit has collected double-digit Ks. Bryce Jarvis led the way with six punchouts, de Geus and Curtis each had two, and Rice added one.

Best Fans In The Game: 5,711 fans came out to HODGETOWN for Friday Night Fireworks tonight, the 10th sellout of the season. Through 25 home games, the Sod Poodles have welcomed 134,448 fans to HODGETOWN, the highest overall attendance in the Texas League.