SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas left-handed pitcher Everett Teaford was beginning to put together a memorable performance Monday night in Arvest Ballpark.
Through 3 2/3 innings, he was perfect from the mound, striking out four Springfield Cardinals batters and inducing five flyouts while consistently throwing in the low 90s.
Then the lightning and heavy rains came, putting an end to Teaford's party.
With severe weather in the area, the game was delayed for about 40 minutes before officials canceled it with the Naturals and Cardinals scoreless in the top of the fourth inning.
Because the game didn't go beyond five innings, it isn't official and will have to be replayed as an entirely new game, according to Texas League rules.
Although a makeup date hadn't been set Monday night, Frank Novak, the Naturals marketing and public relations manager, said the game will likely be made up this weekend when Northwest Arkansas (19-10 second half, 61-38 overall) plays a four-game series at Springfield, beginning Friday.
"(Teaford) threw the ball as well tonight as he had early in the year when he had command of his fastball and curveball," Naturals manager Brian Poldberg said. "I thought that was as good as he's been in a month.
"He's growing confidence in himself, his velocity is up and he located his pitches. Everything was working right there for him."
This season, Teaford is 8-3 with a 4.76 earned run average. At times, he's been dominant, including on June 9 when he had a no-hitter through five innings with six strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Arkansas. Other times, he's struggled, giving up at least five runs in three different games.
Novak said during the delay, Teaford stayed warm in the team's underground bullpen and desperately wanted to keep playing the game because of the results he was getting on the mound.
Springfield pitcher David Kopp was nearly as effective as Teaford, giving up only one hit through three innings and striking out three.
The Naturals' only basehit came from Johnny Giavotella in the first, when he hit a single to center field.
Northwest Arkansas, which now enters a seven-day road trip to Tulsa, Okla., and Springfield (14-15, 52-47), is on the home stretch to end its season on a high note, Poldberg said.
The Naturals have only 41 games left this year, including 20 home games.
"We're just getting guys rested up," said Poldberg, who added Nick Van Stratten could return next weekend from a recent injury. "Looking down the road, when we get everybody back, we just want to stay healthy and get everyone ready for the playoffs."