Four Amarillo Homers Push Soddies Past Travs
TL Amarillo Sod Poodles

Four Amarillo Homers Push Soddies Past Travs

Published on July 8, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


AMARILLO, TX -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (6-8, 42-40) defeated the Arkansas Travelers (7-7, 48-35), 13-8, on Wednesday night at HODGETOWN. The Soddies offense was clicking all night long as they put up a baker's dozen in the run column to even the series with the Travs.

Following a scoreless first frame spun by Soddies lefty Avery Short, the Amarillo bats got to work. Demetrio Crisantes worked his way on base after a lengthy at-bat that resulted in the second baseman getting plunked in a full count. Jansel Luis brought the lumber on the eighth pitch of his succeeding plate appearance, driving one over the right field fence to give the Sod Poodles an early 2-0 lead.

It wouldn't take long for Arkansas to respond, doing so in the top of the second on a Jared Sundstrom double off the left field wall. A pair of singles led off the home second for the Soddies and eventually matched the run plated by the Travs with a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Jack Hurley to bring the Amarillo run total to three.

Two Arkansas home runs in the third quickly put the visitors in the lead however, as both Bill Knight and Hunter Fitz-Gerald went deep. The power surge carried over into the bottom of the fourth as Gavin Logan reached the double-digit homer mark for the year with an opposite field blast to put Amarillo back in front, 5-4.

Short pitched the fifth, posting a second straight scoreless frame to bring his night on the hill to a close, putting him in line for the win. Cristofer Torin did well to help ensure the second-year Soddie would receive his fourth winning decision of the season by homering to left-center to lead off the bottom of the fifth.

Amarillo strung together four straight base knocks in the aftermath of the Torin blast, getting an RBI double off the left field fence from Gavin Conticello and an RBI single from Ben McLaughlin to add a combined trio of runs. The five-run fifth was capped by a Logan double that just stayed fair down the left field line, making it a 10-4 ballgame.

Both sides traded blows in the seventh as Connor Charping got in on the home run party with a two-run shot in top half. Conticello then got a hanging breaking ball on 1-1 count in his seventh inning at-bat, sending it deep to right field for the fourth Amarillo homer of the night.

Josh Hood added another tally to the combined home run total, going deep in the top of the eighth to bring Arkansas back within three runs, but Amarillo tacked on a pair of insurance runs to answer, including an RBI triple from Luis. The three-bagger would be the final run scored for either squad, putting the 13-8 Amarillo win in the books.

POSTGAME NOTES

LUIS YOURSELF: Putting Amarillo on the board in the first inning this evening was Jansel Luis ...he has homered in back-to-back games, both in the opening frame...he is the fourth Sod Poodle in club history to homer in the first inning in consecutive games...since June 30, he is batting .407 (11x27) with 4 XBH, 7 RBI, and a 1.225 OPS.

CAPTAIN CANADA: Gavin Logan launched his 10th dinger of the year this evening...he becomes the fifth Sod Poodle catcher all-time to reach the double-digit mark in the home run column in a single season...his three RBI tonight marked his fifth multi-RBI effort this season.

Check out the Amarillo Sod Poodles Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 8, 2026


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