Percival Goes Seven Plus In Dominant Sod Poodles Win

Amarillo, Texas (May 17, 2024) – The Amarillo Sod Poodles bounced back from their doubleheader defeat on Thursday to throttle the Frisco RoughRiders 9-1 on Friday night at HODGETOWN. Cole Percival worked into the eighth inning on the mound and limited the Riders to just one run as he earned his first quality start of the year in a career-high 7.2 IP.

After being held to just four runs total in their twin bill on Thursday, Amarillo nearly matched it in their first trip to the plate Friday. Tim Tawa led off the game with the first of his three hits for the game before being caught trying to place himself into scoring position. With one out, Sod Poodles batters drew four straight walks to plate their first run of the game off Frisco's Nick Krauth. The RoughRider righty then earned a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Wilderd Patiño nearly cleared the bases, driving a ball into the right field corner. Ivan Melendez was caught at the plate trying to score from first base Patiño's two-RBI double.

Working a 1-2-3 top of the second, Percival got some added run support when Tawa stepped back to the plate in the second inning. The franchise's all-time home run leader added to his total with a solo shot to left-center field to give the Sod Poodles a 4-0 lead. Frisco's nine-hole hitter sent the first pitch he saw on the night over the right-field berm to put the Riders on the board.

Seeing Tawa hit a two-out double and then be followed aboard by a two-out walk from J.J. D'Orazio, Deyvison De Los Santos stepped to the plate to face Krauth in the fourth inning. The hottest hitter in the Texas League extended the Sod Poodles lead with a three-run moonshot that cleared the fence behind Bar 352 and put the Sod Poodles up 7-1. The ball came off the D-backs' no.14-rated prospect bat at 110 MPH and went 446 at a 45 degree launch angle. Percival worked around a leadoff double in Frisco's half of the fifth and then a leadoff single in the seventh to keep the Riders at just one run through the seventh.

Lucky # 1⃣3⃣ pic.twitter.com/Uvx05b64P2

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 18, 2024

Consecutive two-out singles in the top of the eighth inning brought an end to Percival's night after 92 pitches. Southpaw Will Mabrey cleaned up the eighth by inducing a ground out. The Sod Poodles extended their advantage in their final at-bats of the ballgame. Kevin Graham and Logan Warmoth strung together back-to-back singles to score Patiño after being hit by a pitch. Tawa plated the last run of the game with a sacrifice fly to deep center field.

Gerrardo Gutierrez closed the game on the bump for the Soddies. After allowing a single and then a one-out walk. A pair of slow rollers in front of the mound helped to cap the Amarillo's 9-1 win to even the series at 2-2. The weekend at HODGETOWN continues on Saturday night with RHP Dylan File (2-2, 3.69 ERA) taking the ball for the Sod Poodles. The last time File faced the RoughRiders, he walked away with a Texas League Pitcher of the Week award. He will be countered by RHP Dane Acker (1-1, 3.38 ERA).

NOTES:

PERCIVAL WASN’T MERCIFUL: After surrendering 20 runs on 26 hits in yesterday’s double-header, Percival got the Sod Poodles back on track. The Amarillo right-hander allowed just one run, eight hits, and struck out four through 7.2 dominant innings. His 7.2 IP was the most by an Amarillo pitcher this season and the most since Jamison Hill worked 8.0 IP on September 1, 20023. Percival kept his fielders engaged by not allowing a walk in his efficient 92-pitch outing. He utilized his infield, getting eleven ground ball outs and lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.35 after this stellar performance. This makes four games in a row that Percival has only allowed three or less runs.

ANOTHER DEY OF DOMINANCE: Deyvison De Los Santos extended his hitting streak to five games going 3-3 with a home run. He reached base every time he dug into the batter's box, adding a walk to his box score. He has dominated Frisco this season improving his average to .583 (21-for-36) and hit his fifth homerun against RoughRiders pitching this season in 10 games played. The D-backs no. 14-rated prospect added his 18th RBI against the Riders pitching. He added to his Texas League lead in several categories, including reaching 35 RBI’s on the season after getting all three of his RBI’s on his fourth inning, three-run, moonshot. Against the RoughRiders, he has 18 RBI and six XBH.

PRODUCTION UP AND DOWN THE ORDER: Eight of the nine batters in the Sod Poodle’s order reached base in Friday night’s game. It started in the first inning when Wilderd Patiño drove in two runs on a clutch two-out double to set the tone for the game. That was Patiño’s 7th double of the year. Logan Warmouth gave the Sod Poodle’s some insurance in the eighth inning with an RBI single up the middle, his 19th RBI of the season. Kevin Graham extended his hitting streak to five games with a single in the eighth inning. He is just one shy of his season-long hit streak of six.

TAWABUNGA: Tim Tawa extended his Sod Poodle’s all-time home run lead with his 35th big fly as a Sod Poodle in Friday night’s rout of the Frisco RoughRiders. He leads his teammate, Deyvison De Los Santos by one home run after De Los Santos kept pace with a homer of his own. He went 3-4 with two RBI’s and two runs scored. He added on to his multitude of franchise records, smacking three hits to heighten the franchise lead to 188. He played in his 207th game and recorded two RBI’s to reach 116 in his Sod Poodle’s career.

TIMMY TANKS pic.twitter.com/ugDYA8HGew

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 18, 2024

TIMMY TANKS pic.twitter.com/ugDYA8HGew

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) May 18, 2024