Amarillo Drops Second Straight to North's Best
May 30, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
Little Rock, Arkansas - The Sod Poodles dropped their Thursday night game against the Arkansas Travelers 8-3 at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Travs jumped on Dylan File with early runs and used a five-run fourth to chase the Sod Poodles starter and build an insurmountable lead to take a series advantage into the weekend.
Mariners no. 2-rated prospect Harry Ford singled to start the Travs' first at-bat of the night against File. Three straight one-out singles followed as Arkansas used four hits in the inning to take a two-run lead after the first and double the number of runs scored all Wednesday night.
Wilderd Patiño earned Amarillo's only hit through the first four innings via a two-out single in the top of the second. After the opening inning, File allowed hits in each of the next two innings but kept the Travs from extending their lead past two runs going into the fourth. Arkansas started to pull away with three home runs coming off File in the inning. Grant Witherspoon and Kaden Polcovich went back-to-back with one out in the bottom of the fourth. A hit batter and walk put two on base in front of Spencer Packard who blew the game open as the Travs made it a 7-0 lead.
The Sod Poodles finally broke the streak of 20+ innings in between runs from the second inning on Tuesday night. A.J. Vukovich doubled to start the top of the fifth and then advanced to third on a Kristian Robinson single. An Arkansas miscue in the field allowed Vukovich to score and put Amarillo on the board. It would be their only run until the eighth inning. Jancarlos Cintron drew a one-out walk ahead of Caleb Roberts. The D-backs' no. 27-rated prospect then hit his third home run of the year over the right-field fence to make it 8-3.
Amarillo's fifth and final hit of the night came with two outs in the top of the ninth. After Patiño reached base for the second time and kept the game alive by drawing a two-out walk, Robinson made it a multi-hit game. He chopped a comebacker in between the plate and mound and used his speed to beat out an infield single. A ground out halted any comeback bid the Sod Poodles had hopes of.
The Sod Poodles will look to even the series on Friday night. First pitch against the Arkansas Travelers is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
NOTES:
THE (AL)BRIGHT SPOT: In what was a difficult night for the Amarillo pitching staff, Luke Albright was able to shine through adversity. He came in with an inherited runner in the fourth inning and stranded him. He scattered two walks and two hits to throw up two shutout innings. He collected four strikeouts in the effort. This ties his season-high of four strikeouts. His other quadruple strikeout effort came on April 6th against San Antonio at Hodgetown.
CAN'T ROB THAT ONE: Caleb Roberts crushed his third home run of the year in the eighth inning, and his first since his walk-off homerun on the last homestand. His two run blast got him up to 17 RBI's on the season. This extended his hitting streak to six games where he is hitting .360, including five extra-base hits. It also puts him one shy of the Soddies' season-long hit streak of seven, held by several players. He leads the active roster with a .857 OPS.
MAKE IT A NICKLE: In his 15th game of the year, Taylor Rashi turned in his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance. He pitched a clean inning, going 1-2-3 and collecting his 26th strikeout of the year. During his five-game streak, he has racked up 5.2 innings, with nine strikeouts, while only allowing two hits and two walks.
Cory Hilborne Director of Media Relations & Baseball Operations 2019 & 2023 Texas League Champion Amarillo Sod Poodles Baseball P: 806-803-9614 E: coryh@sodpoodles.com A: 715 S. Buchanan Street, Amarillo, TX 79101 www.sodpoodles.com FOLLOW US!
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