Sod Poodles Split Series In Springdale

Springdale, Ark – The Sod Poodles concluded their second road trip of the season with a 9-5 loss to the NW Arkansas Naturals. The two teams split the six-game set after trading wins each night of the series.

With some movement among the Amarillo pitching staff, Justin Vernia made his first Double-A start of his career and 35th professional start. The 26-year-old was signed by the D-backs as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Gonzaga. Vernia spent time with Amarillo in 2021, going 1-0 with a 6.17 ERA in seven relief appearances before moving between High-A Hillsboro and Triple-A Reno.

NW Arkansas got the scoring started with a leadoff double and a couple of sacrifice at-bats to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the first. The Soddies tied it at one run a side following a Leandro Cedeño double and some sacrifice hits of their own. A Jancarlos Cintron double scored Corbin Carroll in the top of the second inning to make it a 2-3 game in favor of the Naturals. NW Ark extended their lead in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run home run to make it 5-2.

The game remained that way into the bottom of the seventh. Following a pitching change, the Naturals saw their first two batters of the inning reach base on singles. A three-run home run, the third Naturals' home run of the ballgame broke the score open, making it 8-2.

As they have done all year, the Sod Poodles offense wouldn't go down without a fight. Andy Yerzy led off the 8th inning with a single and was followed by a Dominic Fletcher double. The hit extended Fletcher's team-leading hit streak to 10 games. Yerzy was thrown out at home on the play, making it an even bigger baserunning miscue when Cedeño belted his team-leading sixth home run of the year on a 3-2 count the following at bat. Jorge Barrosa matched Cedeño's power with his first Double-A home run. The three-run eighth would be as close as Amarillo would get, drawing within three of the lead before ultimately falling to the Naturals.

Amarillo will return to HODGETOWN starting Tuesday for the biggest promotional week of the season to date. The fun starts on Tuesday with Taco Tuesday and the brand new taco special every Tuesday at the ballpark. The Sod Poodles will host a Cinco De Mayo celebration with the team wearing their Pointy Boots de Amarillo jerseys on Thursday instead of their normal Wednesday schedule. Barnes Jewelry is proud to host their third Diamond Dig at the ballpark with one lucky fan leaving the ballpark with a pair of earrings valued at over $3,000 on Saturday, May 7.

NOTES:

Back-to-Back: Leandro Cedeño and Jorge Barrosa are the first two Sod Poodle teammates to hit back-to-back home runs this season. Cedeño blasted his 6th home run of the year and third of the series while Barrosa notched his very first Double-A long ball. Also for Cedeño, he joins Juan Centeno as the only Sod Poodles this season to have a home run in consecutive games. Cedeño mashed two home runs in last night's 7-5 win over the Naturals.

Tice To Meet You: Ty Tice saw his first action as a member of the Sod Poodles in Sunday's series finale. The right-hander was activated off the IL and added to Amarillo's roster ahead of Friday's game. Tice appeared in five MLB games during the 2021 season between Toronto and Atlanta. He also appeared in 23 AAA games with Reno, Buffalo (TOR), and Gwinnett (ATL). In his first appearance of the year, Tice tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout and walk issued.

10-4 Fletch: OF Dominic Fletcher extended his team-leading hit streak to 10 games after going 1-for-4 with a double in the 8th inning. The former Arkansas Razorback matched his second-longest hit streak from a year ago and is now within range of his career-best of 14 straight games with at least a base knock. Of the four Soddies who entered Sunday with a hit streak in play, Fletcher and Carroll extended while INF Blaze Alexander saw his eight-game streak come to an end. Carroll now rides a seven-game hit streak after his 1-for-4 day at the plate.

RISP-Y Business: Amarillo had a tough day at the plate with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-13. Still, the Sod Poodles lead all 30 Double-A teams, hitting .311 with RISP. That total is the third-best among all 120 MiLB teams, trailing only Sacramento and Winston-Salem.

Like Kissing Your Sister: The Soddies have now split their only two road trips of the season. The team traded wins during their six-game series in Tulsa and did the same thing during this trip to Springdale. Splitting a six-game series isn't the worst thing in the world, and the Sod Poodles are now 1-1-2 through the first four series and still hold a winning rerecord on the year.

It's Gonna Be May: Amarillo finished the first month of the year with the best team batting average, and the third most runs and hits in minor league baseball.