Stankiewicz Homers Twice In Friday Night Loss
July 16, 2022 - Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release
Amarillo, TX - Amarillo dropped their third straight contest to the San Antonio Missions on Friday night 18-7. The Missions plated 14-runs over the final three innings to run away with what was a one-run contest entertaining the top of the 7th.
The first pitch of the game from Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 9 rated prospect Slade Cecconi resulted in the first out of the game. A diving play from Ti'Quan Forbes at third base got Friday's night game underway. The Missions' first highlight of the game came during the third at-bat of the night. A two-out solo home run got the scoring started ahead of a pair of two out-hits including a RBI double that made it a 2-0 lead for the Padres' Double-A affiliate.
Amarillo pieced together a pair of two-out hits of their own starting with a single by Leandro Cedeño. Eduardo Diaz followed him aboard but both were left stranded with the third out of the inning coming via a ground out to the shortstop.
Cecconi made quick work of the second inning, retiring all three batters he faced in the inning with swinging strikeouts.
Back-to-back two-out walks in the home half of the second kept the Sod Poodles inning alive. A strikeout ended the threat and also Jorge Barrosa's night as the center field was tossed after arguing his case he foul tipped the ball. Roby Enriquez replaced him in the lineup and took over duties in right field while Eduardo Diaz bumped over to center field.
San Antonio tacked one on in the top of the third inning thanks to a walk, stolen base, and RBI single to make it 3-0.
The first Sod Poodles' run in their last 11+ innings came via a RBI single off the bat of Nick Dalesandro. After seeing Cedeño single, Tim Tawa followed him aboard with a two-out single setting the stage for Dalesandro. Cecconi surrendered a single in the top of the fourth but stranded him after inducing a force-out grounder.
Andy Yerzy drew a leadoff walk to start the Sod Poodles' half of the fourth down a pair of runs. The deficit would last one pitch after Drew Stankiewicz launched his fifth home run of the season to left field. The Sod Poodles added another baserunner with nobody out, but left the inning still tied when the next three batters were all retired.
Cecconi's night came to an end when Kenny Hernandez took the ball for the 5th inning. Cecconi went four innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs with four strikeouts and a walk. Hernandez surrendered a double to the Missions leadoff man who then swiped third base. With the infield playing in, a sharply hit ground ball resulted in a play at the plate with Stankiewicz throwing home trying to mow down the runner streaking for home. A throw pulled Dalesandro up the line a bit and he was unable to tag the foot of the runner and the Missions regained their advantage.
Amarillo mustered one hit over the next two half innings as the game remained a one-run advantage for San Antonio. That lead grew to five after a four-run top of the 7th. A three-run home run was the main culprit in a five-hit inning. The Missions added to it with a three-run eighth, pushing their lead to eight.
Stankiewicz homered again in the bottom of the eighth. His second home run of the game came from the left side of the plate as the switch-hitter became just the third Soddie to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.
San Antonio added seven runs in the top of the ninth in part to three walks and a hit batter that sent Enriquez to the mound for his very first pitching appearance in professional baseball. A bases-loaded walk scored the first of the two runs charged to Enriquez. A double and two-run home run ended the onslaught of runs for the Missions. Enriquez ended his pitching debut with his first career strikeout, an 88 mph changeup.
In the bottom of the 9th, Amarillo scored three runs thanks to four straight hits. Three straight singles followed by a Nick Dalesandro double brought an end to the in-game fireworks on Friday night.
Down three games to one, the Sod Poodles can only hope to salvage a series split by winning the next two. Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, the current Texas League leader in strikeouts, will face the Missions for the fourth time in 2022. His 118 punchouts are 13 more than the next closest Texas League player. First pitch for Saturday's Christmas in July game is scheduled for 7:05 P.M.
Notes:
Hit Collector: 1B Leandro Cedeño singled in his first two plate appearances en route to a 3-for-5 performance. They were his first hits in the series and his team-leading 26th multi-hit game of the year. He scored two runs as well and returned his batting average to an even .300 on the year. Cedeño leads the team in hits (82) and home runs (17).
Side Piece: Starting pitcher Slade Cecconi and reliever Kenny Hernandez both racked up four strikeouts tonight and each recorded an inning with three Ks. Cecconi struck out the side in the 2nd, and Hernandez ended the 7th with a strikeout looking after allowing a walk and a HBP. The Sod Poodles have now struck out the side 33 times this season, and the last pitcher to do it was Brandon Pfaadt on July 4 against Wichita.
Drew The Stanky Leg: SS Drew Stankiewicz cracked two home runs tonight for the first multi-home run game of his career, and the switch-hitter belted a homer from both sides of the plate joining Buddy Reed (7/14/19) and Michael De La Cruz (6/5/21) as the only three Sod Poodles to accomplish the feat. He tied the game in the 4th inning with a two-run shot to left field and added a solo home run to right in the 8th. He now has eight home runs this season, six of which have been for multiple RBI, and he has racked up 40 RBI this year, the third-most on the team. Over half of his career home runs have come this season, as he now has 14 over his four-year career. This was the sixthh time this season that a Sod Poodle has hit two home runs in a game, most recently Blaze Alexander just two games ago on July 13.
Multiply It: Five Sod Poodles had multi-hit performances tonight, including each of the 4-5-6-7 hitters. Cedeño led the way with three, joined by Eduardo Diaz, Tim Tawa, Nick Dalesandro and Drew Stankiewicz with two hits each. Amarillo has seen 227 multi-hit performances this season.
Eight In A Row - OF Roby Enriquez extended his hitting streak to eight games tonight with a double in the 6th inning. He is batting .394 over the streak and now has four doubles in his last four games. He's been a force to be reckoned with in the month of July, batting .408 with two home runs, 10 RBI, eight doubles, and eight runs scored.
Rohtani: After starting the game as the first base coach, Roby Enrique replaced Barrosa in the lineup and played right field. The Puerto Rico native made his minor league pitching debut in the top of the 9th inning. He inherited the bases loaded with no outs and allowed two earned runs. He ended his outing with his first career strikeout.
Singin' The Blues: San Antonio's 18 runs were the second-most allowed by the Sod Poodles this season, trailing the 20 runs put up by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on June 28. Amarillo's season-high is 19 runs, which they scored on April 19 against the Missions. San Antonio collected 17 hits after putting up 18 just two games ago, and Amarillo falls to 0-13 when opponents have at least 15 knocks.
Texas League Stories from July 16, 2022
- 3-Run First Inning Not Enough for Drillers in 15-5 Loss - Tulsa Drillers
- Frisco Falls to RockHounds' 14 Runs - Frisco RoughRiders
- Cardinals Down Drillers 15-5, the Largest Margin of Victory this Season - Springfield Cardinals
- Surge Walk It off for Fifth in a Row - Wichita Wind Surge
- Wichita Walk-Off Dooms Travs - Arkansas Travelers
- Naturals Strike Back - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Stankiewicz Homers Twice In Friday Night Loss - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Riders Come Back, Win on Dropped Strike Three in Extras - Frisco RoughRiders
- Gentry Drives in Two, But Naturals Fall to Hooks for Third Straight Night - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Naturals Come from Behind, as Bullpen Dominates Corpus Christi - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Late Rally Falls Short, Cards Fall 6-4 to Drillers - Springfield Cardinals
- DeLuca, Ward Help Drillers Snap Skid - Tulsa Drillers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
