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Walston Dominates In Rain-Shortened Win

Sod Poodles Blast Three Homers In Win
(John Moore)
July 30, 2022

Amarillo, Texas – The Amarillo Sod Poodles (15-10, 47-47) defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks (9-16, 41-53) by a final score of 8-1 in a 5-inning, weather-shortened game. The evening started with a 1-hour weather delay, and the rain continued to fall all night at HODGETOWN. The Sod Poodles were not

Amarillo, Texas – The Amarillo Sod Poodles (15-10, 47-47) defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks (9-16, 41-53) by a final score of 8-1 in a 5-inning, weather-shortened game.

The evening started with a 1-hour weather delay, and the rain continued to fall all night at HODGETOWN. The Sod Poodles were not bogged down by the water as they slid back to .500 on the year with back-to-back wins.

Starting pitcher and Arizona’s No. 3 prospect Blake Walston struck out the side to kick off the game, and Amarillo immediately gave him the lead with two runs in the bottom of the 1st.

Eduardo Diaz singled with two outs, stole second base, and scored on a two-run home run from Roby Enriquez. It was the fourth home run of the season for Enriquez.

The Hooks halved the lead with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. Walston bounced back well and ended the inning with two strikeouts, giving him five through the first two frames.

The Soddies extended their lead to 5-1 with three runs in the 2nd. After the first two batters were retired, Andy Yerzy singled to extend the inning. Drew Stankiewicz then blasted a two-run homer to right field, and Jorge Barrosa followed him with a 420-foot bomb of his own. Amarillo scored their first five runs with two outs, it was the sixth time the Sod Poodles have hit back-to-back home runs this season.

Corpus Christi threatened by loading the bases in the top of the 3rd. After a leadoff walk, Walston retired the next two, but a catcher’s interference and another walk put three on with two outs. The southpaw struck out the next batter to escape the jam.

Two more runs in the bottom of the 3rd extended Amarillo’s lead to 7-1. Enriquez and Tim Tawa led off the inning with back-to-back walks, and Nick Dalesandro plated one with an RBI double. Yerzy then scored Tawa with a sacrifice fly, but the inning ended with Dalesandro caught trying to steal third.

The scoring continued into the 4th, with Enriquez plating Amarillo’s final run on an RBI single. The Sod Poodles scored in each of the first four innings tonight after scoring in six of their eight offensive frames on Thursday, giving them a run in 10 of their last 12 innings over their last two games.

Walston tossed his second perfect inning in a row in the top of the 5th before the game officially entered a rain delay before eventually being called. The top Diamondbacks’ pitching prospect dazzled despite the conditions, tossing 5.0 IP with just one hit – the solo home run in the 2nd – and a season-high 10 strikeouts. He improved to 3-3 on the year and propelled Amarillo back to .500 (47-47) for the first time since July 12 (41-41).

All told, the Sod Poodles out-hit the Hooks 9-1 and blasted three home runs. Eduardo Diaz and Roby Enriquez led the way with two hits each, and Enriquez added three RBI.

Amarillo and Corpus Christi will hope for better weather in game five tomorrow, Saturday, July 30, with first pitch at 7:05 PM. RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6-5, 4.44 ERA), the Minor League leader in strikeouts, will be on the mound for Amarillo as he looks to propel them to a winning record for the first time since May 15.

Notes:

Walston The Weatherman: LHP Blake Walston, the Diamondback’s top-rated pitching prospect, dominated in the rain tonight to the tune of 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, and 10 K. His strikeout total set a new season-high for him, eclipsing his nine punchouts the last time he faced Corpus Christi on June 24. He has now collected back-to-back games with 5.0, 1 H, and 1 R, after picking up that score line with eight strikeouts in his last outing against Midland. The southpaw is 3-3 on the year and picked up his first decision since June 18.

Lightning Strikes Twice: SS Drew Stankiewicz and OF Jorge Barrosa jacked back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning to give Amarillo a 5-0 lead. Stankiewicz’s two-run homer was his 11th of the year and it was Barrosa’s ninth. It was the sixth time this year that the Sod Poodles have hit back-to-back home runs, and the first time since Tim Tawa and Juan Centeno did it on July 12 against San Antonio. The homer also extended Barrosa’s hitting streak to nine games, where he is batting .513 (19-for-37) with six RBI.

When It Rains, It Pours: The Sod Poodles scored in each of their four offensive innings tonight with multiple runs in three of them. Over their last two games, where they have out-scored the Hooks 23-3, they have scored in 10 of their last 12 innings.

It’s Raining MEN-riquez: OF Roby Enriquez reached all three times tonight in a 2-for-2 effort with a single, home run, walk, and three RBI. He cranked a 447-foot, two-run home run with two outs to give the Sod Poodles the lead in the 1st inning, his fourth homer of the season. He also extended his team-leading hitting streak to 14 games, where he is batting .375 (21-for-56) with 10 RBI.

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