Big Nights from Pena, Franco Not Enough in Tuesday Shootout
TL Amarillo Sod Poodles

Big Nights from Pena, Franco Not Enough in Tuesday Shootout

Published on April 15, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, TX -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (2-8) fell to the Frisco RoughRiders (6-4), 15-11, on Tuesday night at HODGETOWN. On a night where offense was in abundance and the Soddies held the lead for most of the evening, a catastrophic ninth inning put Amarillo back in the loss column.

An eventful first inning featured two runs from both sides as Frisco earned their spot in the run column with a two-run single through the right side of the infield off the bat of John Taylor. Amarillo answered without hesitation using two consecutive two-out singles to set the table for Manuel Pena who drove one up the middle to scratch the first run of the game for the Soddies. The home squad equalized after the fourth straight hit of the frame came from Druw Jones who laced his first double of the year down the right field line.

Avery Short worked a quick inning in the second to allow Ben McLaughlin to come through in the home half with an RBI double, giving the Sod Poodles their first lead of the night. Frisco evened the score in the third when Orlando Martinez drove in a pair for the 4-4 tie. Pena found a pitch he liked in his at-bat to lead off the bottom of the fourth and hit a 448-foot moonshot to right to put Amarillo back in front.

A scoreless top of the fourth tossed by Alec Baker out of the bullpen led to another Soddies score after Cristofer Torin sent one deep to left-center field, collecting his second home run of the year to give Amarillo the two-run lead.

The RoughRiders started to claw back in the sixth, using a Martinez solo shot to cut the deficit in half. Once again however, the Soddies answered quickly as Junior Franco tripled to lead off the home half and scored on an error by Frisco's second baseman. They added on after McLaughlin and Pena both drove in runs on doubles to make it 9-5.

Frisco earned all three of those runs back in the seventh, using a Keyber Rodriguez RBI triple, a wild pitch, and Martinez's second homer of the night to pull within one. Yet again, Amarillo fought back, this time with a two-run Franco bomb to right for the 11-8 lead.

A seven-run top of the ninth from Frisco batters spoiled the evening as they used five base hits and a pair of errors to propel themselves to the 15-11 win over Amarillo.

POSTGAME NOTES

MANNY JUST MASHES: Collecting his Texas League-leading sixth home run of the season in the third inning tonight was Manuel Pena...he has now homered in three straight games, becoming the first Sod Poodle to do so since Gavin Logan who accomplished the feat between 8/26 and 8/30 last season.

FRANCO, MY DEAR...: Checking in with a 3-for-4 night at the dish while scoring three times was Junior Franco...his first three-hit game as a Soddie...finished a double shy of the cycle.

Check out the Amarillo Sod Poodles Statistics

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Texas League Stories from April 15, 2026


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