SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas won a slugfest Friday night.
Roman Hernandez had three RBIs behind a double and two infield singles to lead a 14-hit attack as the Naturals defeated Springfield 7-5 before 5,658 fans in Arvest Ballpark.
Whit Merrifield, Orlando Calixte, Lane Adams and Angel Franco had two hits each for Northwest Arkansas (15-13) while Matt Fields added a solo home run.
Springfield (14-14) finished with 14 hits and six of the first nine Cardinals to bat in the game recorded a hit. But Springfield managed just a 1-0 lead as the Naturals picked off a runner in the first and turned a double play to end the second inning.
Naturals starter Aaron Brooks (4-3) picked up the win despite giving up 13 hits in six innings of work. The Naturals turned three double plays.
The Lingo
“Getting out of some jams really helped. We got off to a slow start, but then we got it going.” — Naturals manager Brian Poldberg
Short Hops
• Field’s home run was his 26th of the season, which is tops in the Texas League. Fields is now tied for second with Kila Kaaihue for most home runs in a season by a Naturals player and he trails the all-time Northwest Arkansas record of 29 set by Clint Robinson in 2010. The Texas League single season home record is 62, set by Ken Guettler (Shreveport) in 1956.
• Naturals infielder Rey Navarro extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run double in the fifth.
• Naturals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert was not in the lineup for the second straight game. Cuthbert was recently promoted from Class A-Advanced Wilmington and is rated by Baseball America as having the best infield arm in the Royals farm system.
Extra Bases: Adams, who was recently promoted from Wilmington, picked up his first hit in Arvest Ballpark with a single in the second inning. Adams also had an RBI single in the fifth inning… Pitchers Santiago Garrido and Andy Ferguson have rejoined the Naturals after short stints at Triple-A Omaha.
Royals Pipeline: Wilmington left-handed pitcher Sam Selman is 7-7 with a 3.78 ERA. Selman (6-3, 165) was drafted out of Vanderbilt in the second round of the 2012 draft and has 78 strikeouts and 60 walks in 85 innings of work this season. … Left-handed pitching prospect John Lamb has struggled in his last two outings as he continues to come back from Tommy John surgery. Lamb has lasted just 5 2/3 innings in his last two starts, both loses where he gave up 13 hits.
On Deck: Right-handed pitcher Kyle Zimmer will make his Naturals debut against the Cardinals tonight at 6 p.m. Zimmer was the top draft pick by Kansas City in 2012 and spent the first half of the season at Class A-Advanced Wilmington. Springfield will send right-handed pitcher Seth Blair (3-6, 4.97 ERA) to the hill.
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Cornelius, Wyatt (5), Wright (8) and Stanley; Brooks, Arguelles (7), Garrido (9) and Graterol. W — Brooks, 4-3. L — Cornelius, 2-4. HRs — Northwest Arkansas, Fields (26); Springfield, Ramsey (11), Melker (8).