Amarillo Sod Squad slugger David Marcano (15) celebrates with teammates after hitting a 3-run homer against the Sod Squad on Sunday night at Hodgetown. [Tom Carver/ Press Pass Sports]
The Amarillo Sod Squad used an 8-run second inning to help them ease past the Sod Dogs in an 18-5 blistering Sunday night at Hodgetown.
The victory clinched the best of six series between the two rivals as the Sod Squad won the Hodgetown Showdown by taking four of the six games in the series.
The Sod Squad move to 15-9 overall heading into the final week of the Texas Collegiate League season, and lead the North Division by a half a game over the Tulsa Drillers (14-9). The Sod Sods (13-11) are two games back.
Sunday’s contest fit the pattern of most of the six games with offense dominating opponent pitching. The game saw a total of 23 runs, 36 hits — 23 of which came from the Sod Squad — on top of seven doubles.
In total, this slugfest of a six-game set saw a total of 132 combined runs.
David Marcano capped of his tremendous series with a 4-for-5 performance Sunday. Marcano hit his third homer of the week with a 3-run shot in the second, adding three singles to his night.
Julio Marcano (31) is mobbed by his teammates after a homer during Saturday nights game at Hodgetown. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
David Marcano and his twin brother Julio Marcano continue to feast on any pitcher that comes across their path. In 16 games, David is batting .359 with three homers and 15 RBIs. Julio is making a case for league MVP. The younger of the twins, by five minutes, is hitting .347, and is tied atop the TCL in home runs with six, while driving in 21 RBIs. Julio also has four doubles to go with three triples.
For the Sod Dogs, Eduardo Acosta and Matthew Garcia have stayed red hot. Garcia is second in the league with a .392 batting average (38-for-97) adding 12 RBIs and five doubles. Acosta, an LCU sophomore, is hitting .382 in 24 games with three long balls and is second in the TCL with 25 RBIs.
Coming into the final week of the regular season, the Sod Dogs open a key home series against Tulsa with the first of a three-game series set for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
The Sod Dogs are on the road where they open the first of a three-game set at San Antonio starting at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
To see full standings and stats visit, texascollegiateleague.com