Rivas' One Swing Leads Sod Poodles To Series Victory Over RockHounds

Amarillo Sod Poodles catcher Webster Rivas (8) hits a go-ahead single against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at HODGETOWN in Amarillo, Texas. [Photo by John Moore/Amarillo Sod Poodles] (Photo by John Moore)

May 15, 2019

AMARILLO, Texas - Catcher Webster Rivas was the hero at the plate in the rubber match against the Midland RockHounds Wednesday night as he hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs in front of a HODGETOWN crowd of 6,007 to give the

AMARILLO, Texas - Catcher Webster Rivas was the hero at the plate in the rubber match against the Midland RockHounds Wednesday night as he hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs in front of a HODGETOWN crowd of 6,007 to give the Sod Poodles the late lead and eventual 3-2 victory in the series finale.
Starting pitcher T.J. Weir was excellent as he tossed five innings and allowed just four hits and two unearned runs. Weir went on to strike out nine RockHounds batters during the contest but was dealt the no-decision on Wednesday night.
The Sod Poodles bullpen made up of Paco Rodríguez and Andres Munoz were lights out against the Midland lineup as they retired all 12 combined batters they faced. Rodriguez tallied three perfect innings and struck out three Midland batters. Then, in the ninth, Munoz closed the contest, striking out two of the three batters he faced with fastballs ranging from 101 to 104 MPH to preserve the 3-2 victory for the Sod Poodles and his third save of the season.

The Midland RockHounds struck first Wednesday night in the top of the second inning when Kevin Merrell reached on a throwing error by pitcher Weir which allowed two runners to score to give Midland the early 2-0 lead.

After the two Midland runs in the second inning, starter Weir settled in and pitched five innings of four-hit baseball and struck out nine RockHound batters. Weir would end up receiving the no-decision on Wednesday night.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Sod Poodles catcher Webster Rivas hit a monster three-run home run over the left field wall on a 1-2 pitch with two outs to put Amarillo ahead of the RockHounds by a score of 3-2.

On Thursday night, the Amarillo Sod Poodles and Frisco RoughRiders will begin a four-game series at Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco Texas.
Game one of the series on Thursday night will air on Fox Sports Southwest with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar will receive the nod from Sod Poodles manager Phillip Wellman. Bachar will face off against the RoughRiders southpaw Joe Palumbo as both starters will look for their first win on the season.