SPRINGDALE — Spring
field leadoff hitter Tommy
Pham has found the North
west Arkansas pitching staff
to his liking.
Pham was on base four
times Thursday, going 2 for
3 and scoring 3 runs to lead
the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory
over the Naturals before an
announced crowd of 4,464 at
Arvest Ballpark.
Pham is hitting .363 in sev
en games against the Naturals
this season with 9 hits, 5 walks
and 10 runs scored.
“Pham is coming on,”
Springfield Manager Pop
Warner said. “The last few
series he’s been impressive,
putting good swings on the
ball and getting on base.” He was on base his first
four times Thursday and
scored the first three times.
Pham drew a walk to open
the game, moved to second
on a passed ball and scored
on a double by Matt Adams.
Springfield pushed the
lead to 3-0 in the third inning.
Niko Vasquez led off the in
ning with a single. Pham fol
lowed with a triple to drive
in Vasquez and scored on a
sacrifice fly by Adams.
“It sets the tempo for the
game,” Pham said of getting
on base from the leadoff spot.
“It’s important for me to get
on base because we’ve got
guys behind me doing well.
If I get on base, it helps them
out a lot.” The Naturals (11-12) ral
lied to within 3-2 in the bot
tom of the third inning when
Nick Van Stratten doubled
with one out and scored on
a single by Christian Co
lon. Anthony Seratelli, who
walked ahead of Colon,
scored on a sacrifice fly by
Jeff Bianchi.
But the Naturals managed
only two more hits against
Cardinals starter Michael
Blazek (2-1), who allowed
five hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Jesse Simpson retired four
batters before Matt Frevert
pitched a scoreless ninth in
ning for his fourth save.
“We had a couple chanc
es,” Northwest Arkansas
Manager Brian Poldberg
said. “We hit some balls
hard, but there’s not a lot to
show for it.” The Cardinals added two
more runs in the fifth. Pham
singled to open the inning.
Alex Castellanos was intentionally walked with two outs, and Eric Duncan earned a base hit in front of center fielder Van Stratten, who misplayed the ball to allow both runners to score and chase starter Will Smith (1-3).
“We pitched around [Castellanes] to get to the lefthander and he got a first-pitch base hit,” Poldberg said. “The wet grass didn’t help. It makes it tougher on the center fielder, but they should’ve scored only one there. We gave them a couple [runs].” The Cardinals put their leadoff batter on five times, also putting pressure on the pitchers and defense.
“When you’re giving up a lot of leadoff guys, good things [don’t] happen a lot of times,” Poldberg said.
Jose Garcia also had two hits for the Cardinals.
Colon was 2 for 3 to lead the Naturals, who lost their third consecutive game.
Standings NORTH DIVISION W L Pct. GB Tulsa (Rockies) ............ 16 9 .640 - NW Arkansas (Royals) 11 12 .478 4 Springfield (Cardinals) . 12 14 .462 4 1/2 Arkansas (Angels) ......9 13 .409 5 1/2 SOUTH DIVISION W L Pct. GB San Antonio (Padres) .. 17 10 .630 - Midland (Athletics) ....... 13 14 .481 4 Corpus Christi (Astros) 12 15 .444 5 Frisco (Rangers) .......... 12 15 .444 5 WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Springfield 2, NW Arkansas 1 Tulsa 8, Arkansas 4 Frisco 3, San Antonio 2, 10 innings Corpus Christi 4, Midland 2 THURSDAY’S GAMES Frisco 5, San Antonio 3 Tulsa 4, Arkansas 2 Springfield 5, Northwest Arkansas 2 Midland 6, Corpus Christi 5 TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Springfield at NW Arkansas, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Frisco, 7 p.m.
Arkansas at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
Midland at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m.
Sports, Pages 19 on 05/06/2011