Sod Poodles Split Series, Saturday Double Feature In Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Amarillo's first road trip of the year came to an end Saturday night in Tulsa with the two Texas League foes exchanging wins in the twin bill. Amarillo cruised to an easy 7-1 win in game one and dropped game two 3-2 on another late-inning homer by the Drillers.

Game 1:

Saturday's first game began as a pitcher's stalemate with the score remaining scoreless through the first two innings of the scheduled seven-inning contest. Tulsa struck first with a leadoff home run on the very first pitch in the bottom of the third inning. D-backs' No. 7 rated prospect Bryce Jarvis was cruising through the beginning of his second start of the year. One base runner managed to reach in each of the first two innings but were immediately taken off the bases thanks to a pair of double plays.

The Sod Poodles, as they had throughout the series leading into Saturday's games, matched the Drillers' run with one of their own in the top of the fourth. Dominic Canzone continued his impressive start to the year with his first homer of the year. Amarillo broke the tie in the top of the fifth inning thanks to some small ball and a couple of timely balks from Drillers' starter John Rooney. Juan Centeno got the inning started with a bunt single, advancing to second on a sac bunt by Dairon Cuevas. Centeno would score on a Drew Stankiewicz RBI single. A single and a balk moved both runners into scoring position and Stankiewicz was able to score on Rooney's second balk of the inning. Canzone's second RBI of the first game gave the Sod Poodles a three-run advantage at 4-1 after the fifth.

Amarillo added another two runs in the sixth on a trio of singles and a Corbin Carroll sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. The Soddies tacked on their seventh run of the game in the top of the seventh when Jancarlos Cintron scored Canzone on a ground out to the Drillers' third baseman.

Jarvis (1-0) exited the game after six innings of one-hit ball, surrendering just the one run on the solo home run in the third inning.

Right-hander Ryan Wiess made his first appearance of the season since joining the team on Friday. Weiss induced three routine fly balls to ensure the Sod Poodles would at least leave Tulsa with at least a series split.

In total, Amarillo racked up seven runs on 11 hits after being held to a season-low three hits on Friday night.

*KEY CONTRIBUTORS
*

OF Dominic Canzone - 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI

C Juan Centeno - 2-for-4, 2 R

INF - Leandro Cedeño - 2-for-3, 2B, BB

RHP Bryce Jarvis - W, 6.0 IP, H, R, 3 K, BB

NOW ENTERING THE CANZONE@dacanzone notches his first HR of the year and we're tied 1-1. pic.twitter.com/yNCrN248ck

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 16, 2022

*GAME 2:*

In a similar fashion to game one, it was a pitcher's duel to start game two with a pair of lefties on the bump. Kenny Hernandez got the spot start for Amarillo, going two innings where he allowed just one hit, adding a pair of strikeouts to his line score. Tulsa once again added the first run of the game with a solo home run on the first pitch of the third inning.

Leandro Cedeño kicked off the Amarillo half of the fourth with a leadoff double but was left stranded on third base following a pair of fly-outs and a ground out.

Some small ball once again energized the Sod Poodles bench. Dairon Cuevas dropped a bunt single down the third base line, advancing into scoring position on an errant throw by Drillers' pitcher Jose Martinez. Drew Stankiewicz tied the game with a RBI double. Stankiewicz scored a few batters later when Dominic Fletcher picked up his ninth RBI of the series and gave the Soddies a one-run lead after the top of the fifth.

Tulsa didn't waste much time tying the game, using another solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Amarillo failed to get another base runner over the final two innings.

The Drillers' third solo home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth broke the tie and proved once again too much for the Soddies offense to overcome as they fell late in the series finale 3-2.

Amarillo will return to HODGETOWN to start a six-game series against the San Antonio Missions starting Tuesday, April 19 with a late-morning matinee. First pitch of the opening game of the series between the Sod Poodles and the San Diego Padres Double-A affiliate is scheduled for 11:05 AM and will be the first of two scheduled STEAM / Business Hookie Days. The Sod Poodles will host their first full slate of daily promotions in 2022 including Wiener Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Friday Night Fireworks, Soddies Saturday, and Hometown Hero Sunday the remainder of the week.

Notes:

In The Canzone: Sod Poodles outfielder Dominic Canzone extended his hit streak to start the year to six games with his 2-for-3 performance in game one of the Saturday doubleheader. Canzone also belted his first home run of the year after hitting seven long balls in 25 games to end the 2021 season with Amarillo. Canzone saw his six-game hit streak come to an end in game two Saturday but is still slashing .444/.500/1.241 eight games into his 2022 campaign. He leads the club with five doubles and 20 total bases. His .444 batting average is the best among all Texas League players and is the third-best mark in Double-A. The former Ohio State Buckeye also ranks in the top 10 among other offensive categories in the Texas League including SLG (2nd, .741), OPS (2nd, 1.241), Doubles (T-2, 5), Hits (T-4, 12), XBH (T-4, 6), OBP (T-6, .500), and Total Bases (6th, 20).

Fletch Adds To RBI Total: OF Dominic Fletcher added to his team lead in RBI with his ninth of the series in game two Saturday night. He played in all six games during the series, going 7-for-23 (.304) with a double, walk, and five runs scored. Not only does Fletcher lead all current Sod Poodles players in RBI, he currently ranks second among all Texas League players with 11 total and is T-3rd in all Double-A.

9⃣ RBI in 5+ games so far this series for @DomFletch15

🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/XJ2laJ2jk8

— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) April 17, 2022

Hurt By Homers: Sod Poodles starting pitching entered Saturday's doubleheader as the only Double-A staff to not allow a home run and was one of just seven starting staffs among all 120 Minor League teams without a home run issued by the starters. Right-hander Bryce Jarvis surrendered the first home run of the bunch to start the third inning of game one, the only hit he allowed in his six innings of work. All four runs scored by the Drillers to close out the series came via solo home runs.

One Step Forward: Amarillo has traded wins and losses in all nine games played so far this season. The team has not won back-to-back games as of yet but has also not dropped consecutive games either in the early part of the season.

*No I In Team: *As a team, Amarillo's 59 runs scored rank second-best among all 30 Double-A teams, trailing only their Oil Pan Cup rivals, Midland, who have scored 66 runs through their first nine games after scoring 19 runs in their Saturday doubleheader against Corpus Christi. The Sod Poodles team batting average of .267 is fifth-best in Double-A, behind fellow Texas League competition Midland and Frisco.