The Northwest Arkansas Naturals were battered Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader before returning the favor in the second against the Springfield Cardinals in Springfield, Mo.
Springfield scored eight runs off two Northwest Arkansas pitchers in an 8-1 victory in the first game, and the Naturals scored five runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-3 victory in the second. Both games were seven innings and played at Hammons Field.
In Game 1, Thomas Pham went 3 for 4 with his third home run of the season, while Starlin Rodriguez and Jake Lemmerman also homered for the Cardinals.
All three of Springfield’s home runs came in a five-runsixth inning that turned a 3-1 lead into an 8-1 advantage. Each home run came off Naturals reliever J.C. Sulbaran, who gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 1 1/3 innings pitched.
The Naturals took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first in the second game when Brett Eibner singled and scored on an error, Yem Prades had an RBI single and Matt Fields hit a three-run home run, his third of the season.
The Naturals added two runs in the third when Rey Navarro scored on a passed ball and Roman Hernandez hit an RBI single.
They scored three more runs in the sixth on Eibner’s RBI double and Angel Franco’s RBI single, and Eibner scored when Navarro grounded into a double play.
Eibner, the former Arkansas Razorback who was namedMonday the Texas League Player of the Week for April 15-21, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scoredand 1 RBI in the second game.
Prades went 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored and Sam Runion pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first victory of the season.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Springfield 8-3, NW Arkansas 1-10 Tulsa 2-3, Arkansas 1-2 Corpus Christi 6, Midland 3 San Antonio 5, Frisco 3TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Corpus Christi at Midland, 7 p.m.
Frisco at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Arkansas at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
NW Arkansas at Springfield, 7:09 p.m.
Sports, Pages 15 on 04/25/2013