CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (July 21, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (11-11, 47-43) defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks (11-11, 42-49), 7-6, on Tuesday night at Whataburger Field. Both squads went back-and-forth in the late innings, making for a chaotic ending, but the Soddies were able to outlast the hosts and took the series opener.
Druw Jones got the action started this evening as he led off the game with a single, later moving up to third base on a wild pitch and a subsequent Jean Walters bunt for a base hit. The center fielder made a good jump off the bat on Jansel Luis’ groundout to plate the first run of the night.
Corpus Christi quickly got to Amarillo starter Billy Corcoran, as a leadoff double was followed by a Trevor Austin RBI knock to even the score. An errant throw by Alberto Barriga allowed another run to come home while Chase Call capped the three-run Hooks first inning with a solo blast.
Nate Savino answered the call out of the bullpen in the first and struck out a total of six batters over his three innings of work to keep the game close. During Savino’s strong outing, a pair of solo home runs by the bottom of the Amarillo order made it a brand new ballgame in the top of the fourth.
Jack Hurley went down and got the 2-2 pitch the cleared the right field fence and Junior Franco later doinked a breaking ball off the right field foul pole that tied the game at three. The deadlock did not last long however as Tyler Whitaker smashed the first pitch he saw in the fourth to put the Hooks back up by one.
In the bottom of the sixth with runners at first and second, Austin singled to center, seemingly adding an easy run for Corpus Christi, but Jones fired the ball to third to cut down Yamal Encarnacion trying to advance a base on the play. The tag was applied before the runner from second touched home, and the outfield assist served as the third out of the inning to keep the Soddies within a run.
Amarillo put runners on first and third with one out in the top of the eighth and a hard-hit single up the middle off the bat of Barriga ricocheted off the foot of the Corpus Christi pitcher, allowing the ball to kick far enough away for any Hooks fielder to make a play while Luis scored the tying run.
Ben McLaughlin and Barriga pulled off a double steal later in the inning, giving Trent Youngblood the opportunity to drive in a pair. The designated hitter was successful, doubling to left-center to give Amarillo the 6-4 lead. While Encarnacion singled in the bottom of the eighth to bring home the Hooks’ fifth run of the night, Jones worked his way around the sacks in the top of the ninth to give Alfred Morillo a two-run cushion for the bottom half.
The Hooks scratched a run in their final turn at bat to make it a little more interesting, but Morillo was able to strike out Whitaker to end the game, giving Amarillo the 7-6 win.
POSTGAME NOTES
OKIE DOKIE DR. JONES: Extending his hitting streak to 10 games with a first inning single tonight was Druw Jones...it is now his longest hitting streak of the year...since the stretch began on July 7, he is batting .318 (14x44) with nine runs scored, seven RBI, and seven stolen bases.
RUNNING WILD: The Soddies swiped six bags tonight, a season-high and the third-most stolen in a single game in club history...it is the second time in Amarillo’s most recent seven games they have stolen at least four bases in a game...the Sod Poodles improve to 9-2 in games when they steal 3+ bases.