Amarillo Sod Poodles stumbles into second week of road trip against Corpus Christi

The Amarillo Sod Poodles have been a part of five walk-off finishes so far this season and were on the losing end of two of those this past week when they faced off against the San Antonio Missions on the road.

The Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate won two games last week and will now head into their new series against the Corpus Christi Hooks fresh off of four losses in their last five games.

Amarillo owns a 30-33 overall record and will square off against the Hooks — the affiliate of the Houston Astros — for the first time this season.

More: The Adams Family: Brylee follows in sister's footsteps as AGN Softball Player of the Year

Corpus Christi enters the week coming off of a 4-2 road trip against the Springfield Cardinals.

The Astros' top-rated prospects include infielder Joe Perez (No. 8) and right-handed pitcher Jaime Melendez (No. 13).

Perez was the 53rd overall pick in the 2017 Draft out of Archbishop McCarthy High School (FL). He has appeared in 13 games this season while batting 10-for-51 (.196) with one home run, four RBI, and four runs scored.

The Mexico native Melendez has compiled a 1-6 overall record on the mound so far this year in nine starts. He has allowed 30 runs (27 earned) on 39 hits with 56 strikeouts across 45 innings of action.

Corpus Christi (28-35) is in last-place in the Texas League South Division, while the Sod Poodles are sitting in third.

More: Freshman Force: River Road's Carolyn Koval named AGN Softball Newcomer of the Year

Amarillo is 13-17 on the road this season while the Hooks have compiled an 11-16 record at home.

For results from the contests, visit www.amarillo.com/sports.

This week's series

Opponent: Corpus Christi Hooks

Schedule: 6:35 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 7:05 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 5:05 p.m. Sunday

Where: Whataburger Field, Corpus Christi

Records: Sod Poodles 30-33; Hooks 28-35

What to know: Corpus Christi ranks seventh in the Texas League in team batting average (.251) with Amarillo ahead of them in first and leading the league (.281). The Sod Poodles are third in home runs (85) with the Hooks bats right behind them in a tie for fourth (77). Corpus Christi is third in runs scored (368) with the Soddies remaining at the top of the league leaderboards by a wide margin (406). The Hooks pitching staff ranks ninth in team ERA (5.78) with the Soddies sitting last (6.07).

SOD POODLES STAT LEADERS

HITTING

• Average: Corbin Carroll .321; Blaze Alexander .297; Leandro Cedeno .287

• OBP: Corbin Carroll .436; Blaze Alexander .376; Andy Yerzy .357

• Doubles: Jancarlos Cintron, Eduardo Diaz 13; Jorge Barrosa, Corbin Carroll 11

• Triples: Corbin Carroll 7; Eduardo Diaz, Dominic Fletcher 2

• HR: Corbin Carroll 15; Leandro Cedeno 13; Blaze Alexander, Dominic Fletcher 7

• RBI: Eduardo Diaz 43; Leandro Cedeno 42; Corbin Carroll 36

• Runs: Corbin Carroll 60; Eduardo Diaz 38; Leandro Cedeno 34

PITCHING

• ERA: Brandon Pfaadt 4.45; Slade Cecconi 4.74

• Innings pitched: Slade Cecconi 68 1/3; Brandon Pfaadt 64 2/3; Bryce Jarvis 49

• Wins: Jeff Bain, Brandon Pfaadt 4; Slade Cecconi 3

• Saves: Junior Garcia, Blake Rogers 4; Blake Workman 2

• Strikeouts: Brandon Pfaadt 84; Slade Cecconi 66; Bryce Jarvis 53

• Walks: Bryce Jarvis 27; Blake Walston 17; Brett de Geus 16

Sod Poodles Roster moves

June 13: C Juan Centeno transferred from Triple-A Reno to Amarillo

June 15: RHP Austin Pope placed on IL

June 16: RHP Kyle Mora transferred from Arizona Complex League to Amarillo

June 17: INF Jancarlos Cintron transferred from Amarillo to Triple-A Reno

June 17: INF Elvis Peralta transferred from High-A Hillsboro to Amarillo

June 18: LHP Mack Lemieux transferred from Triple-A Reno to Amarillo

June 18: C Lyle Lin transferred from Amarillo to High-A Hillsboro

Looking back

TUESDAY, JUNE 14

SOD POODLES 6, MISSIONS 3

Top performers

Sod Poodles: Corbin Carroll 3-5, 1 R; Andy Yerzy 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Slade Cecconi 6 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 SO

Missions: Ripken Reyes 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Connor Hollis 2-5, 1 RBI; Henry Henry 3 IP, 2 H, 1 SO

Highlights: The Sod Poodles scored all six of their runs in the game's first two innings as they jumped out to a big lead early that they held on to the rest of the way because of some strong pitching and team defense.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15

MISSIONS 7, SOD POODLES 2

Top performers

Sod Poodles: Jorge Barrosa 2-5, HR, 1 R, 1 RBI; Ti'Quan Forbes 1-4, 1 RBI; Josh Green 3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 SO

Missions: Korry Howell 3-4, HR, 3 R, 1 RBI; Domingo Leyba 3-4, 1 R; Jason Blanchard 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Highlights: San Antonio scored six runs in the first three innings and had a pair of solo home run shots by shortstop Connor Kaiser and centerfielder Korry Howell.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16

MISSIONS 4, SOD POODLES 3

Top performers

Sod Poodles: Drew Stankiewicz 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB; Andy Yerzy 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB; Deyni Olivero 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Missions: Tirso Ornelas 1-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI; Thomas Milone 2-3, 1 R; Moises Lugo 3 IP, 1 H, 5 SO

Highlights: The Missions tacked on three runs in the final two innings for a comeback win over Amarillo that ended when designated hitter Yorman Rodriguez hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to centerfield to score pinch runner Ripken Reyes in the bottom of the ninth.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17

SOD POODLES 5, MISSIONS 3

Sod Poodles: Leandro Cedeno 2-5, 3 RBI; Juan Centeno 3-4, 2 R; Brandon Pfaadt 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 8 SO

Missions: Jorge Oña 1-4, HR, 1 R, 1 RBI; Domingo Leyba 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI; Nolan Watson 4 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 SO

Highlights: Amarillo notched a four-run seventh inning and totaled 11 hits while starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt and relievers Cam Booser (2 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO) and Blake Rogers (1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO) collectively performed well on the bump.

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

MISSIONS 11, SOD POODLES 2

Top performers

Sod Poodles: Corbin Carroll 2-4, HR, 2 R, 1 RBI; Eduardo Diaz 2-4, 1 RBI; Blake Walston 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Missions: Domingo Leyba 4-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI; Chandler Seagle 1-4, HR, 1 R, 4 RBI; Reggie Lawson 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Highlights: San Antonio catcher Chandler Seagle hit a grand slam as part of a six-run seventh inning and Amarillo centerfielder Corbin Carroll hit his 15th home run of the season.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19

MISSIONS 5, SOD POODLES 4

Top performers

Sod Poodles: Leandro Cedeno 1-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI; Drew Stankiewicz 2-4, 1 RBI; Slade Cecconi 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO

Missions: Yorman Rodriguez 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI; Juan Fernandez 2-4, 3 RBI; Thomas Eshelman 6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 SO

Highlights: For the second time in the head-to-head series, San Antonio won on a walk-off run. On Sunday, Missions' shortstop Connor Kaiser hit a solo home run over the left field wall off of Amarillo pitcher Junior Garcia to close out the week.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Sod Poodles have rough road visit against Corpus Christi