Sod Poodles Secure Series Split With RoughRiders

AMARILLO, TX (April 19, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (5-10) defeated the Frisco RoughRiders (8-7), 9-7, on Sunday afternoon at HODGETOWN. Gavin Conticello and Ben McLaughlin powered the offense, while Druw Jones’ arm put any chance of a ninth-inning Frisco comeback to bed.

The Soddies put pressure on the No. 7 Rangers prospect David Davalillo from the jump, utilizing a two-out rally to draw first blood. Following a base hit from McLaughlin, Orlando Martinez failed to cut off a line drive to the right-center field gap from Conticello as the ball rolled to the triangle for an RBI triple.

Frisco took its first lead of the day in the top of the second on a moonshot two-run home run from Julian Brock that stayed fair down the left field line. However, the RoughRiders advantage wouldn’t last beyond the inning.

Angel Ortiz led off the home half of the second with a game-tying homer, and after retiring the next two batters, Davalillo would unravel after hitting Jesus Valdez with a pitch in an 0-2 count with two outs. With the lineup turned over, the Sod Poodles rattled off three straight hits to plate two more runs in the frame.

Amarillo extended its lead to 7-2 in the sixth thanks to RBI singles from McLaughlin and Conticello, but Frisco cut into the deficit in the top of the seventh. Billy Corcoran and Jonatan Bernal could not combine to hold the Riders at bay after their first three hitters reached, allowing four runs to score.

Given a clean sheet to work with in the eighth, Bernal blanked Frisco. Amarillo would produce a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the frame, first on Manuel Pena’s RBI double as he would later come in to score on a wild pitch.

The insurance proved to be necessary as Frisco would not go down quietly in the ninth, getting the tying run on base on Brock’s RBI single dumped into shallow center field. On the same play, Keith Jones II was thrown out trying to advance to third by Jones, ending the game.

The Sod Poodles head to San Antonio next, beginning a 12-game road trip against the San Antonio Missions and the Midland RockHounds. Their first road series against a South Division opponent begins Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Nelson Wolff Stadium.

POSTGAME NOTES

LUCKY 13: It was a big day at the plate for Amarillo first baseman Ben McLaughlin, who collected the first four-hit game of his professional career on Sunday...in his four games since switching jersey numbers on Wednesday, he is 8-for-17.

STUCK IN A SIMS-ULATION: Landon Sims saved the first game of the season for Amarillo on Sunday after leading the Texas League with 12 last season...it snapped the longest stretch without a save to open a season in team history.