AMARILLO, TX (August 15, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (24-20, 60-52) defeated the Midland RockHounds (21-23, 53-59), 10-9, on Saturday night at HODGETOWN. A high-scoring battle in front of a sold-out crowd featured more than a handful of historic moments in the Soddies’ victory.
For the second straight night, both sides kicked off the scoring early as they each plated a run in the opening frame. Casey Yamauchi walked to lead off the game and wound up scoring on Davis Diaz’s double to put Midland on the board. Amarillo followed it up with two straight singles off the bats of Trent Youngblood and Cristofer Torin, allowing Jansel Luis an opportunity to come through later in the bottom of the first with a two-out double to even the score.
When the third rolled around, Torin wasted no time by checking in with his second hit of the night while Jordan Lawlar reached base on ball four. In the middle of a historic week at the plate, Avery Owusu-Asiedu stepped up to the dish and smoked a line drive off the left field wall to bring a run around and put the Soddies in front.
The lead would be short-lived, however, as Nate Nankil smacked a leadoff home run to center field to tie the game. With Clark Elliott aboard on a single, Cameron Leary belted a home run of his own, making it a 4-2 RockHounds lead.
On a 1-2 pitch in the fifth, Youngblood lined a ball to center that hit off the top of the wall and bounced away from the Midland center fielder. The speedy second baseman motored around the bases to score standing up on the first Sod Poodles inside-the-park home run since July 2023.
The non-traditional homer was matched by a more traditional two-run out-of-the-park blast from Lawlar to give Amarillo the lead back. The line kept moving as Owusu-Asiedu walked and then scored on a Luis triple into the right-center gap. After Zane Taylor was chased from the game with one out in the inning, Ben McLaughlin welcomed the new Midland arm to the game with an RBI single to cap the five-run fifth inning with Amarillo leaving it in front, 7-4.
A pair of Midland two-baggers in the sixth brought home one while an RBI groundout later in the frame brought home another to make it a one-run game. Druw Jones responded in the home seventh with a single and a stolen base. He broke for third on the pitch to McLaughlin and scored easily as the first baseman lined a ball to left. Then it was Gavin Logan’s turn to contribute as the left-handed hitting catcher skied one to left field, clearing the fence for a two-run blast that extended the Soddies advantage to four.
The RockHounds fought back once more, plating three in the eighth on Leary’s second homer of the night and Taylor’s two-run double as the score came to 10-9 with Soddies still ahead. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Alfred Morillo came on to pitch for the Soddies and was able to retire the side without much opposition, earning the save and securing the 10-9 Amarillo victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
GRAN TORIN-O: Checking in with the sixth five-hit game in Soddies history tonight was Cristofer Torin...he is the second Sod Poodle to collect five hits in a game this year, matching Manuel Pena’s output on April 16 against Frisco...Amarillo and Northwest Arkansas are the only two teams in the Texas League to have two separate five-hit performances this season.
HIGH-FIVE: The five-run Amarillo fifth inning featured two home runs and a triple...it is only the fifth time in Soddies history that an inning has included 2+ HR and at least one triple, with the most recent occurrence happening on May 31, 2023...the Soddies have now won all five games in which they have done this.