Sod Poodles Drop Finale, Split Series With Hooks

Amarillo, Texas (April 16, 2023) – The opening homestand of the 2023 season came to an end with an 11-5 Amarillo loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks on Sunday afternoon at HODGETOWN.

Corpus jumped out to a 4-0 lead after their first three at-bats of the game while the Sod Poodles were held to a pair of hits through the opening third of the game. A leadoff single by Ryan Bliss who extended his team-best hit streak to eight games was accompanied by D-backs no.4-rated prospect Deyvison De Los Santos collecting a two-out single to join Bliss on the basepaths in the bottom of the first but both were left stranded.

The Sod Poodles were then held hitless over the next five innings as the Hooks were able to extend their lead to as much as eight until Amarillo finally broke through. Tristin English and A.J. Vukovich went back-to-back with solo home runs in the bottom of the seventh. Roby Enriquez notched the third straight extra-base hit for Amarillo with a double as the Sod Poodles bats seemed to get into a groove. A pair of ground outs ultimately pushed Enriquez over to third but failed to allow the outfielder to score and cut into the Hooks lead any more than the two runs.

Tim Tawa drew a one-out walk ahead of a single and another walk to load the bases for Vukovich in the bottom of the eighth. His second hit of the day brought home another two runs as Amarillo cut the deficit back to six runs after Corpus tacked on two in the top of the eighth.

The teams traded runs in the final frame of the day. A solo home run by Hooks' Will Wagner, his fifth hit of the day, capped the Hooks scoring. Amarillo's Juan Centeno drew a leadoff walk and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Consecutive flyouts put the Sod Poodles down to their final out of the day but sent Tawa back to the plate. He was able to drive in Centeno before the game came to an end on a diving stop by Wagner manning second base for Corpus Christi.

Amarillo will now head to Springdale, Arkansas to face off against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A Kansas City). The two will begin their scheduled six-game series on Tuesday, April 18 following a league-wide off day on Monday. RHP Deyni Olivero is slotted to get the start in game one of the series which is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start.

NOTES:

DOUBLE JACK: Tristin English and A.J. Vukovich combined for the first back-to-back homers for Amarillo this season. English has now homered in two of his last three games played and has eight Double-A dingers since joining the club on June 28, 2022 (69 games played). Vukovich also collected two home runs this series, bookending his week with homers in the opener and series finale. Vuk, a 2020 4th-rounder, is now batting .310 (9-for-29) with a double, two homers, and 10 RBI through eight games in 2023.

BACK 2️⃣ BACK JACKS! pic.twitter.com/mU6vRyOvrE

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 16, 2023

HE DON'T BLISS: INF Ryan Bliss extended his team-leading hit streak to eight games, second-best in the Texas League behind Tulsa's Jorbit Vivas (9 games). Bliss continues to lead not only the Texas League, but all of Double-A in hits with 16 and finds himself fourth in AVG (.421) and T-5th in stolen bases (5) across all 30 Double-A clubs.

DOUBLE DE LOS:Deyvison De Los Santos, the Arizona Diamondbacks' no.4-rated prospect, produced a multi-hit effort in three of his last four games played. The 19-year-old went 2-for-4 with a run scored on Sunday. For the series, De Los Santos hit .333 (7-for-21) with a double, home run, five runs, four RBI, and two walks in five games played.

STANDING ON TOP: Through the first nine games of the season, Amarillo sits on top of the Texas League South Division at 5-4. The team was unable to notch a franchise-first, winning the first two series to begin the season, but hold the head-to-head over Frisco who also owns a 5-4 record to start the year. The Sod Poodles entered the day sitting even in run differential through eight games, but sit atop the standings scoring six fewer runs than their opponents so far in the early going. The Arkansas Travelers (Double-A, Seattle) currently hold the best record in the Texas League at 6-2.