CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (July 22, 2026) -- The Amarillo Sod Poodles (11-12, 47-44) fell to the Corpus Christi Hooks (12-11, 43-49), 10-9, on Wednesday night at Whataburger Field. An eventful contest from the first batter of the game, Corpus Christi outlasted Amarillo for a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning.
There was no shortage of action in the early stages of the game, starting with a leadoff triple by Trent Youngblood that center fielder Yamal Encarnacion could not squeeze crashing into the fence, setting up an immediate sacrifice fly from Jean Walters.
The Hooks had a response in their first turn to bat, using a two-out rally to put runners on the corners before a missed connection between Alberto Barriga and Cristofer Torin on a double steal attempt allowed for Will Bush to touch home as the tying run. In the Hooks next turn to bat, a leadoff home run to by Tyler Whitaker kick-started the offense and Alberto Hernandez made it 3-1 with his solo shot to left field on the first pitch of his at-bat two batters later.
The Amarillo offense exploded for six runs in the top of the third with the help of self-inflicted wounds by the Hooks pitching and defense. A throwing error followed by two walks issued by starting pitcher Cole Hertzler opened the frame to load the bases with none out. The Soddies were able to tie the game without recording a hit, as Jesus Valdez scored on a wild pitch and Junior Franco was just quick enough to score on a Torin sacrifice fly. The Sod Poodles finally found themselves in the hit column in the third, taking the lead on Ben McLaughlin’s line-drive RBI single to right field. Druw Jones cleared the bases in the next at-bat, depositing a letter-high fastball over the berm beyond the left field wall for a three-run blast that chased Hertzler from the game.
Soddies starter Alec Baker and left-handed reliever Sandro Santana combined to get through the bottom of the third, while the southpaw posted another in the fourth. Amarillo padded its lead with a run each in the fifth and sixth, first using a fielding error on a steal of second with runners on the corners and then a wild pitch after a leadoff triple by Franco.
The Hooks would not say die, having three of the first four hitters in the bottom of the fifth draw a walk to load the bases. The Amarillo defense nearly turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, but an errant throw by Torin allowed two runs to score. In the sixth, the first two batters reached base before Amarillo would opt for Roman Angelo in relief of Josh Grosz. A groundout and strikeout shined a light at the end of the tunnel, but the Soddies could not get completely out of the woods when Chase Call’s opposite-field three-run homer brought the hosts within a run.
Back on the mound for his third inning of work in the bottom of the eighth, Angelo was greeted by Trevor Austin, who took him deep to right field for a game-tying solo homer. Fresh Hooks reliever Amilcar Chirinos struck out the side in the top of the ninth, while Blake Cederlind ran into trouble when the combination of a walk, wild pitch, and infield single placed the winning run 90 feet from home in the bottom of the ninth. Intentionally walking the next bater to set up a force at home, the Soddies defense was only able to record one out before Encarnacion forced Torin to range to his left just enough for Whitaker to beat his throw home.
POSTGAME NOTES
OKIE DOKIE DR. JONES: Extending his career-long hitting streak to 11 games with a three-run homer in the third inning tonight was Druw Jones...since the stretch began on July 7, he is batting .313 (15x48) with 10 runs scored, 10 RBI, and seven stolen bases.
FRANCO, MY DEAR...: Junior Franco continued his scorching-hot July with a pair of extra-base hits on Wednesday... Franco is batting .375 (15x40) with nine XBH, nine RBI, and a 1.207 OPS over 13 games this month...for the year, he is batting .305 (68x223), ranking third among qualified Texas League hitters and leading active Sod Poodles in that category.