CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (May 16, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (19-18) fell to the Corpus Christi Hooks (17-21), 9-4, on Saturday night at Whataburger Field. Heading into the bottom of the fifth with the lead, a disastrous seven-run frame allowed the Hooks to sink the Soddies.
Soddies starter Avery Short was locked in to begin play, producing a lot of weak contact from Corpus Christi batters over his first two innings of work, needing only 18 pitches to get through the first pair of frames.
The scorching hot Gavin Conticello checked in with his second hit of the night to lead off the top of the fourth with a double to left. While it looked as if Hooks starter Brett Gillis was about to escape another jam, Danny Serretti found a pitch he liked with two away in the inning and sent it beyond the right field wall for the first runs of the night, giving Amarillo the 2-0 lead.
Corpus Christi earned a run back in the bottom of the fourth without the need of a hit. Lucas Spence was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and eventually scored on a sac fly off the bat of Max Holy to cut the Hooks deficit in half.
A Junior Franco leadoff single in the fifth was followed by an error that allowed Ben McLaughlin to reach base. Later in the inning, Manuel Pena unloaded on a 3-1 pitch and looked to have his 16th homer of the year, but Jeron Williams reached over the fence and robbed the Amarillo designated hitter of the long ball. Franco was able to trot home on the play to give Pena the sac fly and the two-run Soddies lead.
Two knocks to begin the home fifth yielded a Corpus Christi run and a Jansel Luis throwing error extended the inning, allowing the Hooks to equalize. Spence came through with a double down the right field line to put the hosts in front. They would go on to score four more in the fifth, capped by a Trevor Austin two-run homer to make it an 8-3 ballgame.
Gavin Logan popped the first pitch he saw in the seventh out of the ballpark for a solo home run to put the Sod Poodles down by four. That would be all Amarillo could muster however, and Corpus Christi scratched another run in the eighth, tagging the Soddies with the 9-4 loss.
POSTGAME NOTES
YES SERRETTI: Going deep in the fourth inning tonight with a two-run blast was Danny Serretti...he also drew two walks in the game, the second time he has collected a home run and two walks in a single contest this season...he is now slugging a Texas League leading .648 for the year.
WHAT CONTI DO?: Since April 28, Gavin Conticello is batting .432 (16x37) with 11 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, and a 1.296 OPS over his most recent 10 road games.