Percival Strikes Out Eight as Sod Poodles Even Series

May 2, 2024 – Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release

AMARILLO, Texas – Amarillo evened the series against the Midland RockHounds Wednesday night at HODGETOWN. Cole Percival had his complete pitch mix working on the mound as he struck out a season-high eight batters en route to helping the Sod Poodles earn a 7-3 win over their Oil Pan Cup rivals.

Percival was in complete command from the jump in his HODGETOWN debut. Seeing the first two Midland batters double, then single, the right-hander had some early traffic to deal with. He proceeded to fan each of the next three RockHounds to leave the pair of runners stranded in scoring position after Cooper Bowman stole second. Percival then made much quicker work in the top of the second inning, registering three more swinging strikeouts, giving him six consecutive in the early part of his outing.

The Amarillo bats were able to send him back to the mound with a lead after the bottom of the second. Caleb Roberts reached base safely with the help of the first Midland error of the night. Singles by two of the next three Sod Poodles would have loaded the bases, however, the second RockHound error of the frame allowed Roberts to trot home for the night’s first run.

Percival worked another 1-2-3 inning in the third. This time inducing a pair of groundouts before adding his seventh strikeout of the game to send his teammates back to the plate. Each of the first three Sod Poodles reached base to begin the inning, the third once again aided by a Midland miscue. Tim Tawa made the most of the bases-loaded opportunity, driving in the second Amarillo run with a RBI single to keep the bases full. After seeing the first out of the frame, Roberts added to the advantage with a RBI knock of his own to pass the baton down the order. A wild pitch scored the third run of the inning before a walk re-loaded the bases. Wilderd Patiño capped the four-run frame with a sac fly to build a 5-0 lead for Percival to work with.

The right-hander got the first two batters to ground out once again. Back-to-back two-out walks helped to keep the RockHounds at the plate. The free passes came back to cost him with a two-out triple bringing home both runners as Midland was finally able to push runs across the plate. His eighth strikeout was the final out of his HODGETOWN debut. He worked a stellar 4.0 IP with just three hits allowed, a pair of runs, and two walks.

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