AMARILLO, TX (June 27, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (2-3, 38-35) defeated the Frisco RoughRiders (3-2, 42-31), 4-2, on Saturday night at HODGETOWN. The low-scoring contest favored the hosts in front of a sold-out crowd, giving the Soddies a chance to walk away with a series split tomorrow night.
The first two innings featured excellent pitching and defense. In the top of the first, the Soddies ended the inning after Malcolm Moore’s at-bat when the catcher lined into a double play. Up against Major League rehabber Jordan Montgomery however, the Soddies were unable to get anything going as the lefty tossed two perfect innings, striking out three along the way.
Despite retiring the first batter he faced in the third on strikes, Junior Sanchez was chased from the game as each of the next four Frisco batters reached base, including a two-run homer from the Riders’ nine-hitter, Corey Joyce. Logan Mercado took over and was able to strand the pair of inherited runners as the Soddies trailed by a pair going into the home third.
**
Anderdson Rojas** worked a leadoff walk in the third and later scampered over to second on a stolen base, allowing Matt O’Neill the opportunity to hit with a runner in scoring position. The Amarillo designated hitter lined a hanging breaking ball over the head of Frisco’s center fielder to allow Rojas to trot home and put the Soddies on the board. Mercado got through the fifth without surrendering any runs and had some assistance from Alberto Barriga when the catcher hosed Joyce at second base on his steal attempt in the top of the fifth.
After showing off his defensive expertise behind the plate, Barriga stepped up to the dish in the home half of the fifth and lined a single up the middle and quickly swiped his first Double-A bag to set the table for the bottom of the Amarillo order. The opportunity to tie the game came and went however as each of the next three Soddies were retired.
Sandro Santana entered out of the bullpen in the sixth and recorded two strikeouts as part of a 1-2-3 inning to keep the game close. In a matter of seconds, Cristofer Torin and Ben McLaughlin began the home sixth with back-to-back solo jacks on back-to-back pitches to quickly put the Amarillo squad in the lead.
The Amarillo arm barn was firing on all cylinders as they continued to keep Frisco off the board in the late innings, allowing the Soddies to tack on a needed insurance run in the eighth. Gavin Conticello dropped one into triples triangle on a misplayed fly ball in right-center field, bringing Demetrio Crisantes around to score Amarillo’s fourth tally of the evening on the three-bagger.
Things got interesting in the top of the ninth with Frisco putting the tying run on base, but Indigo Diaz was able to induce a game-ending groundout to first, sealing the 4-2 win for the Sod Poodles.
POSTGAME NOTES
GRAN TORIN-O: Extending his hit streak to nine games with his game-tying home run in the 6th inning was Cristofer Torin...the shortstop is batting .325 (13x40) since the streak began on June 17 and has now scored in four straight contests while posting a .916 OPS.
WHAT CONTI DO?: Checking in with his fourth triple of the season in a critical spot in the eighth inning tonight was Gavin Conticello...it is his second three-bagger in his most recent four games and his third in the month of June...he is now in a tie for second on the Texas League triples leaderboard this season.