Soddies Set Club Offensive Records, Split Doubleheader

Frisco, Texas — The Sod Poodles and Frisco RoughRiders split a doubleheader on Sunday at Riders Field. The Soddies won the resumption of Friday night's game, 16-8. Frisco responded with a 3-1 victory in the seven-inning nightcap.

The teams resumed Saturday night's suspended contest on Sunday afternoon, picking the game up in the bottom of the second inning with no score.

Amarillo's offense exploded with a historic performance, setting multiple new club offensive records.

With the Sod Poodles trailing 1-0 in the third, first baseman Michael De La Cruz belted a two-run homer to left field. In the top of the fourth, Jose Herrera tacked on with a solo shot to right. Herrera's second blast of the season gave Amarillo a 3-1 lead.

After the RoughRiders put together a six-run fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead, the Sod Poodles chipped away in the fifth. Alek Thomas lifted a solo homer to the opposite field in left, followed by Jake McCarthy scoring on a double play ball to make it 7-5.

In the sixth, the Sod Poodles erupted with a nine-run inning. The rally set a new club record for runs scored in a frame. After scratching across a few runs including Herrera's RBI single, the barrage continued. Michael De La Cruz's second round tripper of the afternoon was a grand slam to right field. The blast marked only the second time that a Sod Poodle has ever homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Amarillo's nine-run outburst marked the most runs ever scored by the Sod Poodles in a single inning. The previous high was seven runs, accomplished twice in 2019.

Following the grand slam, Luis Basabe belted a solo shot to right for back-to-back homers. Geraldo Perdomo capped the inning with an RBI triple. Amarillo grabbed a 14-7 lead.

In the seventh, Stone Garrett clubbed a homer to left field to make it 15-7. In the eighth, Basabe clobbered his second blast of the game to extend the lead to 16-7.

The Soddies plated 16 runs on 20 hits, both new team records. The previous records set by the 2019 Sod Poodles were 15 runs and 18 hits. Amarillo's seven home runs in the ballgame also set a new club high. The previous mark was four home runs in a single game, accomplished four times by the 2019 group.

Amarillo's bullpen also shined in the victory, with lefty Mack Lemieux picking up the win with two scoreless innings. Luis Castillo allowed a run in two innings, while Justin Lewis tossed a scoreless ninth.

In the nightcap, Amarillo's offense was not nearly as potent.

Stone Garrett hit his second home run of the day, a solo blast to left field as the Soddies jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Frisco starter A.J. Alexy.

Amarillo starting pitcher Jeff Bain tossed two scoreless frames to begin the evening, but then was greeted with Ryan Dorow's two-run homer in the bottom of third. Bain allowed an RBI single to Dorow in the fifth, as the RoughRiders took a 3-1 advantage.

The Soddies' offense was unable to rally, as Alexy allowed just the home run in 4.1 innings and Frisco's bullpen tossed 2.2 scoreless innings to secure the team's win.

After playing 24 of 30 games on the road to begin the season, the Sod Poodles return to downtown Amarillo for the start of a 12-game homestand on Tuesday night.

First pitch in the opener of a six-game series against the Corpus Christi Hooks is at 7:05 p.m.