CORPUS CHRISTI - The Hooks, starring as the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits before an Education Day crowd of 4,059, snapped a three-game slide by scoring three times in the ninth to steal a 7-6 win from Amarillo Wednesday afternoon at Whataburger Field.
Corpus Christi coaxed five walks in the fateful frame, including bases-loaded free passes by Lucas Spence and Yamal Encarnacion. Spence, activated from the IL the previous afternoon, tied the game. Encarnacion, working three walks on the day, won the game on a 3-2 pitch with two away.
The Sod Poodles established a 4-0 lead through three innings. Bryce Mayer lasted 1 2/3 innings but was backed by a stellar effort from the bullpen.
Michael Cuevas, Julio Rodriguez, Alejandro Torres, and Ramsey David combined to allow three runs over 7 1/3 innings. Cuevas and Torres each garnered six outs, with Julio Rodriguez throwing 2 1/3 shutout frames.
David pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his second win of the year.
Joseph Sullivan ignited a two-out rally in the fourth by lining a double down the right-field line. Following an Encarnacion walk, Trevor Austin cracked a two-bagger off the bag at third to plate a pair.
Max Holy, 2-for-4 with a walk, capitalized on Garret Guillemette's fifth-inning double with a two-out RBI single.
Jeron Williams helped restore it to a two-run deficit in the eighth by shooting a double down the right-field line and Will Bush brought him home via an opposite-field single to left-center.