Soddies Split Doubleheader at San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 22, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (6-11) split a doubleheader against the San Antonio Missions (5-12) Wednesday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium.

GAME ONE

The first inning went quickly, as both starters posted scoreless frames to open play. Daniel Eagen caught Francisco Acuna looking at strike three for his first punchout of the night.

After a pair of Soddies were retired on strikes to begin the top of the second, Danny Serretti kick-started a two-out rally where he would double and eventually score on a Junior Franco single to right to give Amarillo the early advantage.

Eagen tossed a scoreless second inning, but ran into some trouble in the third as back-to-back doubles from the Missions evened the score at one with credit for the game-tying RBI going to Ethan Salas.

After former Soddie Leandro Cedeno walked with one out in the home half of the fourth, Tirso Ornelas lined a 2-2 pitch over the right field fence for a two run homer, giving San Antonio the two-run lead.

Amarillo got to work in the top of the fifth after Franco led off the inning with a single. Two more Sod Poodle batters reached base via walk to load the bases for Ben McLaughlin who delivered a bloop single to left field to scratch a run and cut into the deficit.

A miraculous highlight reel catch from Druw Jones prevented extra-bases once things began in the home half of the fifth. Eagen recorded one more out for the Soddies on the hill before an Acuna single brought his day to an end.

Druw Jones oh my goodness what a catch! 😱@MiLB | #EmbraceTheAnimal pic.twitter.com/TMjdQP4aEn

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 22, 2026

Antonio Menendez trotted out of the bullpen to finish off the fifth. With the Soddies still trailing, Serretti walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch with no outs in the sixth, opening the door for Amarillo to tie the game, but the second baseman was stranded.

Menendez continued to deal on the mound, giving Amarillo one last shot at the dish, but the opportunity came and went as San Antonio tagged the Soddies with the game one defeat.

POSTGAME NOTES (G1)

I’M McLAUGHLIN IT: Since April 14, Ben McLaughlin is batting .423 (11x26) with seven runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI and a 1.233 OPS over his most recent six games...over 28 plate appearances in those six games, he has struck out only four times, good for a 14.2% strikeout rate.

YES SERRETTI: Continuing to stay hot at the plate to begin the 2026 campaign for Amarillo is Danny Serretti... his .527 OBP so far this year is the best qualified OBP among all-time Soddies through the team’s first 16 games.

GAME TWO

After facing the minimum in the first inning, San Antonio starter Eric Yost ran into some trouble in the top of the second. With two on and two out, Jesus Valdez put the Soddies on board on a 1-2 offering and managed to put a soft liner just over the head of Missions shortstop Francisco Acuna to plate Ben McLaughlin.

Amarillo right-hander Josh Grosz had his best stuff going, turning in his longest start of the year and matching a season-high with seven strikeouts for the evening.

Yost would not return to the mound for the Missions for the fifth, as Andrew Moore would enter the game in relief but failed to keep his team within a run.

The bottom two batters in the Sod Poodles lineup drew walks to begin the frame and two productive outs by Cristofer Torin and Manuel Pena moved Valdez over and in to double Amarillo’s lead.

With a two-run cushion, Roman Angelo and Hayden Durke each tossed a scoreless frame in the home fifth and sixth innings. Landon Sims entered for the save in the bottom of the seventh, and while the Missions earned a run off the closer, he limited the damage in the seventh.

Braedon Karpathios would score San Antonio’s lone run of game two after leading off the seventh with a double and came around to score on a one-out RBI single by Carson Tucker. The Missions could not get the tying run past first base as the next two batters would be retired to end the game and Sims

The Sod Poodles will continue their series in San Antonio on Wednesday with a scheduled nine-inning contest. Ashton Izzi will toe the slab for Amarillo while Miguel Mendez gets the start for the Missions, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES (G2)

GROSZ DOMESTIC PRODUCT: Putting together one of the most dominant starts by a Sod Poodles pitcher this season was Josh Grosz...in four shutout innings, he matched the longest outing in his Double-A career and tied a season-high seven strikeouts, allowing four baserunners total.

ROMAN WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY: Roman Angelo put together a bounceback effort out of the bullpen, throwing a perfect bottom of the fifth inning...it’s his shortest outing since only recording two outs in a start with Triple-A Reno on 8/28/25 and his second-shortest relief appearance in the minors.