Sod Poodles Win Home Finale

Amarillo, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles defeated the Arkansas Travelers 3-1 on Sunday to win their final home game of 2022.

The Sod Poodles scored all three runs in the 4th and were led by a dominant performance by starter Ross Carver. Arkansas did not score until there were two outs in the top of the 9th.

Both starters kicked off the game with a 1-2-3 1st with two strikeouts apiece. The Travelers led off the 2nd with a hard-hit double to left field, but Carver stranded the runner and ended the inning with another strikeout.

Deyvison De Los Santos and Blaze Alexander led off the bottom of the 2nd with back-to-back walks. De Los Santos advanced to third after tagging up on a fly ball, but they were both left stranded. Carver racked up two more strikeouts in the 3rd and retired the side in the 4th.

Eight Sod Poodles were retired in a row after the walks in the 2nd, but they drew back-to-back walks again with two outs in the 4th. AJ Vukovich came through in the big spot and laced an RBI single to right field to plate the first run of the game. Tim Tawa followed him with a clutch two-RBI single of his own to make it 3-0, Amarillo.

Newly up by three, Carver continued his dominance with a scoreless 5th. He retired 10 Travelers in a row before a two-out single in the inning, and the runner was stranded in scoring position after advancing on a passed ball. Carver allowed just three baserunners through the first five innings. Arkansas led off the 6th with a double, but Carver retired the next three for another scoreless frame.

Amarillo loaded the bases but failed to score in the bottom of the 6th. De Los Santos led it off with a double, Alexander followed him with his third game walk, and Vukovich loaded the bags with a single. De Los Santos took off from 3rd after a wild pitch but was tagged out at home before a popout ended the frame.

Jake Rice relieved Carver in the 7th, ending the starter’s line at 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, and 5 K. Rice allowed a single and retired the next three batters.

The Sod Poodles threatened again in the bottom of the 7th but couldn’t score in a hectic inning. After a leadoff strikeout, Jorge Barrosa doubled and stole third. He bounced around on the bag, threatening to steal home, as Roby Enriquez drew a walk to put runners at the corners. He took off for home in an attempted double-steal and was tagged out at the plate on a bang-bang play after a 1-4-2-5-2 rundown.

Brent Teller entered for Amarillo in the 8th and struck out the side. De Los Santos led off the bottom of the frame with a deep double to right-center but was left stranded. The Travelers finally struck the scoreboard in the bottom of the 9th with three hits off of Teller, but he escaped the inning and earned his second save of the year.

Amarillo will hit the road for their final series of the season next week against the San Antonio Missions. The Sod Poodles finished with a 34-35 record at home this season and welcomed over 375,000 fans to HODGETOWN in 2022.

Notes:

Carving Board: RHP Ross Carver dominated the Travelers through six innings and earned the second win of his Double-A career. He kicked off the outing with two strikeouts in the 1st and retired 10 in a row while allowing just four total baserunners. He ended with a final line of 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, and 5 K, which tied his season-high in innings pitched and was his first scoreless outing of the year. Carver is 2-4 with a 9.56 ERA this season.

Blaze On Base: SS Blaze Alexander drew a walk in his first three plate appearances in an 0-for-1 game. He scored in the 4th inning and reached third base in the 6th, and his three walks set a new season-high. Arizona’s No. 14 prospect is batting .309 this season and is batting .419 (13-for-31) with 10 RBI and nine runs scored in September.

Deyvison Likes Doubles: 1B Deyvison De Los Santos cracked two doubles in today’s victory, his first two in Double-A. He doubled and was thrown out at home after trying to score on a wild pitch in the 6th, and launched a double to the deepest part of the ballpark in the 9th. He finished with a 2-for-3 performance with a walk and a strikeout. In his brief Soddies career, Arizona’s No. 6 prospect is batting .222 with two hits in each of his last two games.

AJ Two-kovich: AJ Vukovich, Arizona’s No. 12 prospect, singled twice in a 2-for-4 game. After going 0-for-4 in his first Double-A game on Tuesday, Vukovich has notched a hit in four straight games and is now batting .300 (6-for-20) with four RBI in his Double-A career.