Soddies Seal the Second Half Crown with a Shutout
- Austin Hartsfield
- Sep 11
- 3 min read
Nothing can replace memories made in champagne showers and cigar smoke. For the third time in franchise history the Amarillo Sod Poodles clinched a spot in the Texas League Playoffs with a shutout victory over Midland on Wednesday night.
Amarillo played one of their best all-around games all season in the biggest spot, grooving 15 hits. The Sod Poodles got multi-hit nights from Manuel Pena (4), Ryan Waldschmidt (3), LuJames Groover, Gavin Conticello, and newcomer Cristofer Torin. Few people have been more dependable for this club than Manuel Pena at Hodgetown this season, where he has hit .352. Pena turned in his first 4-hit of the season in a big spot, setting the tone starting out the game with doubles in three straight at-bats. Pena boosted his batting average in the second half to .304, trailing only Groover (.314), Ryan Waldschmidt (.311), and Ben McLaughlin (.345) who continues to be a major piece of this second half surge from Amarillo.
After taking an early lead on a double play, Gavin Conticello crushed a home run in the third inning that cleared Bar 352 in left field for his tenth home run of 2025, extending the Sod Poodles lead to 2-0.
“It was a great game all around. Our pitching came out, our hitting came out. We wanted to get the win early in the week, and we’re glad we got it now.” Gavin Conticello said before entering the locker room to celebrate with his teammates. “Especially against a good team like this every run matters, these games can come down to one play so getting that extra run definitely helps.”
Conticello joined Christian Cerda (18), Ivan Melendez (16), Jose Fernandez (15), Manuel Pena (14), Tommy Troy (12), LuJames Groover (12), Kristian Robinson (11) and Caleb Roberts (10) in the double digit home run club for Amarillo this season.
JJ D’Orazio laced a double in the 5th to tack on a third run, and the Texas League RBI leader Jose Fernandez delivered what would be the final blow when he doubled to drive in one more.
Jose Cabrera spun a six inning gem, dominating the Rockhounds in Amarillo for the second time in the second half. Cabrera, who has spent the season in Bomb City, struck out 4 and only allowed 4 baserunners in his time on the bump for the Sod Poodles. From there manager Javier Colina turned to flamethrower Yordin Chalas who gave his best performance at Double-A, throwing 2 scoreless innings, striking out 2 while touching 98 on the radar gun. After that as it should have, the game went into the hands of Landon Sims. Sims is no stranger to the big moment even prior to minor league baseball. The Former Mississippi State Bulldog closed out a combined no-hitter with Will Bednar, brother of former Sod Poodle David Bednar who was the closer for the 2019 championship squad, in the National Championship game of the College World Series. Sims sealed the deal like he has all year to complete the shutout to start the party. It marked the first time since May 2nd 2024 that Amarillo shutout an opponent at Hodgetown, with the last coming against Midland.
This isn't the first time that a couple of the current Sod Poodles celebrated clinching the Texas League South. Caleb Roberts, JJ D’Orazio, and Yilber Diaz were all a part of a 2023 Sod Poodles team that not only won the South but won the Texas League as a whole.
“Honestly, it's pretty similar.” Caleb Roberts said this week. “ Both teams that I have been on won the second half and that’s always a good sign just because you're playing your best baseball when it counts. We want to keep that going the last few weeks of the season.”
The Sod Poodles will take on this same Midland team next week at Hodgetown to decide who will play the winner of the North Division. The previous two Sod Poodles teams to make the playoffs, 2019 and 2023, both won the Texas League after making the dance.
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