TL1 Amarillo Sod Poodles

Sod Poodles Walk-Off 5-4 in Series Opener against RockHounds

May 24, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


Amarillo, Texas - The Amarillo Sod Poodles walked-off on the Midland RockHounds with their four-hit, two-run bottom of the ninth to make it a final 5-4 series opener in front 5,371 fans at HODGETOWN. With the bases loaded, Owen Miller knocked a one-out single to left field through the hole at shortstop, allowing Rodrigo Orozco to score the winning run. With the victory, the Sod Poodles are now within three games of the first-place Frisco RoughRiders in the South division.

Sod Poodles' starting pitcher Emmanuel Ramirez spanned seven and one-third innings while striking out seven Midland batters and allowed four runs on five hits. Three of those five hits were RockHounds home runs. Ramirez's outing was the longest of any Amarillo starter this season. Kyle Lloyd, who picked up his second win of 2019, completed one and two-thirds frames while allowing no runs despite walking four batters.

Brad Zunica highlighted the Sod Poodles offense with his three-for-four, two-double night with two RBI collected.

In the second inning, Midland struck early when catcher Jonah Heim belted a solo home run to right field to give the RockHounds the early 1-0 advantage. One inning later, Dairon Blanco hit another solo home run to right field to extend the Midland lead to 2-0.

Zunica tied the ballgame up at 2-2 in the fourth inning when he crushed a two-RBI double to center field allowing Luis Torrens and Webster Rivas to score before Zunica was thrown out trying to stretch a triple.

The RockHounds answered right back in the top of the fifth when Blanco hit his second home run of the night to deep left field to put Midland back on top 4-2. In the bottom of the inning, the Sod Poodles plated one run of their own after Ivan Castillo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Chris Baker to score and cut the RockHounds lead to 4-3.

Amarillo threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning, putting runners on the corners with no outs but were unable to push a run across. The inning came to an end when Rivas grounded into a double play and Zunica grounded out to first.

Taylor Kohlwey started the ninth-inning rally with a single to left field. With Buddy Reed in the game as a pinch-runner for Kohlwey, Orozco singled to center field on a perfectly executed hit-and-run, moving Reed to third. Ivan Castillo, who was looking to extend his hit streak to eight games, followed suit and ripped a base hit to left field plating Reed and advancing Orozco to third base to put the winning run 90 feet away. An intentional walk to Edward Olivares would load the bases for Miller, and then, on a 2-2 count, he hit a single through the hole at shortstop to bring home Orozco and give Amarillo the 5-4 victory.

On Friday night, the Amarillo Sod Poodles and Midland RockHounds will resume their four-game series at HODGETOWN in downtown Amarillo. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. as right-handed pitcher Jesse Scholtens will take the mound from the Sod Poodles and will face off against the RockHounds righty James Naile in the contest.

NOTES:

WALK-OFF: The Sod Poodles walked off for the second time this season, both coming in games at home. The first walk-off win as a franchise came on May 3 against Springfield when Hudson Potts delivered an 11th-inning two-run home run to complete the 6-5 comeback win. On Thursday, Owen Miller delivered a one-out single to complete the 5-4 comeback over Midland.

Win One, Gain One: With their walk-off win on Thursday night, the Sod Poodles improve to 21-24 on the season and gain a game in the standings after Frisco's walk-off loss to Corpus Christi. The Sod Poodles are three back in the South division.

Streaking: Ivan Castillo knocked a huge game-tying base hit in the bottom of the ninth with one out Thursday evening, extending his current hit streak to eight games. During his hit streak, he is batting 13-for-34 (.382), with seven RBI, seven runs, and a home run. The longest streak for a Sod Poodles player this season is eight games (Miller, Overstreet, Torrens, Castillo).

Emmanuel, The Man: In his seventh start of 2019, Emmanuel Ramirez was dialed in, tossing seven and one-third innings while allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits with a season second-best seven strikeouts. He becomes the first Sod Poodles starter to complete pitch seven complete innings this season.

What A Night: Sod Poodles first baseman Brad Zunica collected his fifth and sixth doubles of the season Thursday evening while totaling two RBI on his 3-for-4 night. It marked his second three-hit game and third two-RBI game of 2019.

Pardon Our Delay: HODGETOWN saw a one-hour and fifty-four-minute delay Thursday evening due to severe storms. The scheduled 7:05 p.m. contest officially started at 8:59 p.m. CT.

Stranded: The Sod Poodles stranded a total of seven runners in scoring position Thursday evening, knocking in four who were in scoring position. The team left a total of 10 on base in game one with Midland.

Mission: Long Ball: In the last three games at HODGETOWN, there was a streak of 13 solo home runs - three by Corpus Christi on Tuesday evening, six by Corpus Christi and two by Amarillo on Wednesday afternoon, and two on Thursday by Corpus Christi before Dairon Blanco slugged a two-run home run to break the streak.

Ca(STILL)o RAKIN': Infielder Ivan Castillo has been extraordinary since being added to Amarillo's roster on May 3. In 17 games, Castillo has not batted below .300, currently holding a .347 average (25-for-72) with ten runs, three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI. He has gone hitless in only two games.

Strong Arms of the League: The Amarillo Sod Poodles pitching staff leads all of the Texas League with 468 strikeouts. Behind the Sod Poodles is Corpus Christi arms with 449.

Swipers Swipin': The Sod Poodles are 25-for-28 in stolen bases in the month of May.

Working His Way Back: Southpaw Adrian Morejon made his seventh start in game three of the series with Corpus Christi, tossing three innings while allowing only one run with three strikeouts. The start was Morejon's third since being reinstated from the Amarillo Injured List on May 13.

Career Day: Miguel Diaz made his fourth rehab appearance Wednesday tossing four innings and tied a career-high allowing five earned runs all of which were solo home runs. Diaz also recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in his relief appearance and earned his second victory during his rehab stint with Amarillo.

High in Homers: The Sod Poodles pitching staff Wednesday afternoon gave up a season-high six home runs to the visiting Corpus Christi Hooks.

On The Board: Amarillo infielder Chris Baker hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning of Wednesday's contest. Last season with High-A Lake Elsinore, Baker hit four long balls. Almost two years to the day, on May 23, 2017, Baker slugged his first two home runs of the season against Inland Empire while with the Storm.

Curse Reversed: In games one and two of the Sod Poodles three-game series with the Hooks, the Sod Poodles only collected two runs on ten hits. In game three, Amarillo exploded for eight hits and scored seven runs against Corpus Christi.

Series Recap: Amarillo avoided being swept by the Corpus Christi Hooks as they were victorious by a final score of 7-6 in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

Amarillo by Morning: The Sod Poodles played their first morning game in HODGETOWN history on Wednesday, May 22 against the Corpus Christi Hooks in front of an announced attendance of 5,146.

Heatin' Up: Outfielder Buddy Reed, who is currently batting .212 on the season, is on the rise as he is 11-for-30 in his last nine games with a home run and two doubles with three runs scored and four RBI. He collected a four-hit game on May 13 versus Midland.

Movin' On Up: Amarillo reliever Andres Munoz was promoted to Triple-A El Paso Tuesday. Munoz appeared in 15 games with the Sod Poodles where he struck out 32 of the 54 batters he faced and only allowed seven hits. Munoz recorded a team-high in saves with four for Amarillo. On May 15, Munoz's fastball touched 104 MPH.

The New Guy: The Padres number five pitching prospect, Michel Baez made his first appearance Tuesday night against the Corpus Christi Hooks. Baez went two innings in relief while allowing one run on two hits and striking out four Hooks batters.

Series Preview: The Sod Poodles continue their seven-game homestand at HODGETOWN Friday night as they play host to the Midland RockHounds in game two of the four-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with gates set to open at 6:00 p.m.

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Texas League Stories from May 24, 2019


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