Sod Poodles Drop Season Opener

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (0-1) fell to the San Antonio Missions (1-0), 5-4, on Friday Night at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium. A rainy evening favored the home team, as pitching dominated the night.

It was a strong start for the Sod Poodles starter as Dylan Ray tossed back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to open play in 2025, keeping the Missions off the basepaths.

In the top of the third, Jose Fernandez found his way on base by looping a double into left field for his first career Double-A hit, putting him in scoring position with one away in the inning. After a hit batter and an error, LuJames Groover drew a bases loaded walk to bring in the Sod Poodles first run of 2025. Gavin Conticello immediately followed suit with a bases loaded walk of his own to extend the lead to two.

It would not take long for the Missions to respond as Devin Ortiz launched a one-out solo home run to left field to put San Antonio on the board in the bottom half of the inning. One frame later, the Missions added four runs to take a 5-2 lead.

With two on in the top of the sixth, Andy Weber stepped in for his fourth plate appearance of the night and laced a triple to the left-center gap, bringing in both runners to cut the deficit to one.

Down to their last couple of outs in the ninth, Groover and Conticello found their way on base to represent the tying and go-ahead runs, both eventually moving into scoring position later in the frame, but the rally fell short, as Bradgley Rodriguez closed out the game for the Missions, tabbing Amarillo with the 5-4 defeat.

The Sod Poodles will look to bounce back tomorrow night with first pitch against San Antonio scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with LHP Avery Short (0-0, 0.00) scheduled to toe the rubber against RHP Henry Baez (0-0, 0.00).

POSTGAME NOTES

DOUBLE THE FUN: Christian Cerda’s second inning double marked the first hit of the season for the Sod Poodles, making it the second year in a row that Amarillo’s first knock of the year was an extra-base hit...Caleb Roberts recorded Amarillo’s first base hit in 2024, a solo home run in the second inning against San Antonio.

BAKER’S DOZEN: Entering the game out of the bullpen in the fifth was Alec Baker who tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit while striking out three...of his 31 games last season between High-A Hillsboro and Amarillo, he tallied five relief appearances of at least three innings without allowing a run.

HIP, HIP, JOSE: Making his Sod Poodles debut, Jose Fernandez collected a double in his first Double-A at-bat...went 1-for-3 on the night with a walk, scoring two of Amarillo’s four runs.