Northwest Arkansas scored 15 runs over the final three innings, including a six-run seventh to take the lead, en route to a 19-12 victory over Arkansas in Texas League baseball Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park.
Trailing 6-4, the Naturals started the top of the seventh with fi ve consecutive hits and roared into the lead. Northwest Arkansas won its third straight game as the two teams combined for 43 hits.
Arkansas outhit Northwest Arkansas 23-20, but Travelers pitchers gave up seven walks and threw six wild pitches in the game, which lasted more than four hours. Arkansas also committed three errors.
Second baseman Johnny Giavotella started the Naturals’ big seventh with a solo homer as part of a 5-for-5effort. He scored four times and drove in two runs.
Eric Hosmer, Jamie Romak andPaulo Orlando each had three hits, while fi ve diff erent Naturals drove in three runs each. Leadoff man Jarrod Dyson was the only Naturals batter who did not get a hit.
Arkansas scored four runs in the eighth to get within 1 3-10, but the Naturals bounced back with six runs in the top of the ninth to put things away.
Rowdy Hardy (2-1) benefited from the rally and picked up the win in relief for the Naturals.
ON THE WEB: www.
nwanaturals.com.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: See today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Sports, Pages 7 on 07/23/2010