TL Amarillo Sod Poodles

Five Run Second Helps Sod Poodles Take Opener

May 21, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


SPRINGDALE, Arkansas - Amarillo started their two-week-long, 12-game, road trip in Arkansas with a late morning game against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark.

After the Sod Poodles were put down in order to start the contest, the Naturals struck first in the bottom half of the inning. A Tyler Tolbert single was followed two batters later by a Rodalfo Duran triple off the left-field wall. Duran would score when Gavin Cross hit a line drive to right field that turned into a sacrifice fly. Amarillo starter, Jamison Hill, left a couple Naturals stranded when he struck out his first batter of the day to keep it at 2-0 after the opening frame.

The Sod Poodles exploded for five runs in the second and got the rally started when J.J. D'Orazio drew a one-out walk. Caleb Roberts immediately followed with the Soddies first hit, a line drive single to right field. For the second time in the past three games, Wilderd Patiño drove in the first Amarillo run on a two-strike single up the middle. Kristian Robinson followed with a two-run double down the third base line to give Amarillo a 3-2 lead. Jesus Valdez walked before Tim Tawa drove in Robinson on a single. Valdez came in to score the fifth run on an RBI groundout. An A.J. Vukovich walk marked the end of the day for Naturals starter Tyson Guerrero after just 1.2 innings and giving up five earned runs.

The next couple of innings went by quickly as the pitchers settled in after an eventful first nine outs. Patiño made a leaping grab to save extra bases in a scoreless bottom of the second, and the Soddies went down in order in the third. The Naturals loaded the bases in the bottom half with a couple of singles and a walk, but Hill escaped danger by punching out Dillan Shrum. Noriega worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth and Hill followed suit, retiring the Naturals in order in the bottom half.

Noriega gave up his first baserunner on a Vukovich double with one out in the fifth. Noriega had retired the first eight batters he faced and racked up four strikeouts over that stretch. Amarillo couldn't cash in as back-to-back fly-outs extinguished the threat. Duran added his second extra-base hit on a one-out double, which was followed up by a two-run home run from Cross, cutting the Amarillo lead to 5-4. Hill eclipsed his season high of 89 pitches and was pulled with two outs after hurling 99 pitches. Jake Rice relieved Hill and gave up a hit and then saw an error extend the inning and allowed the tying run to score as Melendez threw a ball just wide of Rice covering first base.

The Sod Poodles got their leadoff man aboard in the sixth as Caleb Roberts walked. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Patiño laid down a sacrifice bunt. Roberts was then thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Robinson ground ball. Valdez was walked on four pitches allowing Tim Tawa to come up to the plate and drive in the go-ahead run with a RBI single. After allowing a leadoff double just out of the reach of a sliding Patiño, Rice retired the next three batters in each variety, a strikeout, a flyout, and a groundout to strand Tolbert at second.

Taylor Rashi came in and worked around a couple of walks for a scoreless seventh inning. In Anthony Simonelli's second inning of work for NW Arkansas, he sat down the Sod Poodles in order, punctuated by a strikeout to end the frame. Rashi followed suit as he also had a 1-2-3 inning in what was his second inning on the bump.

Simonelli finished his outing after three innings and faced the minimum of nine batters. He retired the last seven batters he faced as he prevented Amarillo from getting any insurance runs. The Soddies turned to Mitchell Stumpo on the mound in the bottom of the ninth in a save opportunity. Cross started the inning by notching his third hit of the afternoon, a line drive single up the middle. After a flyout, Cross swiped his seventh bag of the year to put the tying run in scoring position. Stumpo struck out Peyton Wilson on the next pitch for the second out. A wild pitch sent Cross to third base where he was left stranded as Stumpo caught Shrum looking to secure a 6-5 victory for Amarillo.

The Sod Poodles will look to win their second game of the series and fourth in five games Wednesday night. First pitch against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals is scheduled for 7:05 Central. Amarillo will send RHP Billy Corcoran to the mound for his second Double-A start. The Naturals will counter with RHP Eric Cerantola (1-1, 1.27 ERA).

NOTES:

BULLPEN BULLIES: Mitchell Stumpo helped to secure the series opening victory as he collected his first save of the season and his first since April 12, 2023 when he was with Triple-A Reno. Stumpo has worked all 11 games he has appeared for Amarillo this season without allowing an earned run. Across 12.0 IP, Stumpo has allowed just seven hits. LHP Jake Rice was credited with the win following 1.1 IP as the first man out of the 'pen for the Sod Poodles in relief of Jamison Hill. For the left-hander, it's his first win since game one of the Texas League Championship in 2023. After a scoreless outing of his own, Rice has not allowed a run in 11 of his last 12 appearances and carries a 3.43 ERA with just eight earned runs allowed over 21.0 IP this year in 15 games. RHP Taylor Rashi was credited with his second hold on the year after working two hitless innings before turning things over to Stumpo to close it out. Tuesday was his fifth outing in his last six where he did not allow an earned run. The 2.0 IP for Rashi matched his season-high in his 13 total outings.

TIMMY TWO KNOCKS: Tim Tawa was the lone Sod Poodle to have a multi-hit effort for Amarillo, finishing 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI out of the leadoff spot in Amarillo's order. Tawa's two knocks added to his franchise-high in hits and have him nine shy of 200 hits for his Sod Poodles career. The former Stanford Cardinal is also tied for the all-time HR record with Deyvison De Los Santos, who was promoted to Triple-A before the game on Tuesday.

DOUBLE TAKE: Kristian Robinson collected his first extra-base hit of the season, driving in two runs with a double in the top of the second inning. His two-RBI performance also gave him a new single-game high for RBI in 2024. He crossed the plate twice for the Sod Poodles, also giving him his first game scoring more than once in his 22 games played.

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