Hooks Hold Off Naturals

Yem Prades, left, high fives Carlo Testa, both with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals after his solo home run against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Wednesday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. Testa followed Prades’ home run with another home run in the bottom of the second inning.
Yem Prades, left, high fives Carlo Testa, both with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals after his solo home run against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Wednesday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. Testa followed Prades’ home run with another home run in the bottom of the second inning.

SPRINGDALE — For a few moments, Northwest Arkansas appeared to be on the verge of ending both its offensive woes and recent losing streak.

But the Naturals needed more than back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second inning to change their fortune Wednesday night.

Corpus Christi (32-20) overcame a slow start and scored all five of its runs over the fourth and fifth innings to pull out a 5-4 win over the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark.

Northwest Arkansas (15-35) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second after center fielder Yem Prades and left fielder Carlo Testa each smacked solo home runs to left field.

But the Naturals’ losing streak was extended to four games after they stranded the tying run at first base in the bottom of the ninth.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Corpus Christi 5

Northwest Arkansas 4

The Lingo

“You’re hoping it creates a situation where guys relax, and we haven’t scored more than three runs the majority of the time this year. So, we were hoping that. The outfield did a good job of throwing two guys out at second, which saved us possible big innings early. (But) they’ve got some deadly innings. With one swing, they can hurt you.”

— Brian Poldberg, NWA Naturals Manager, on his team’s back-to-back home runs

Short Hops

w Testa broke out of his recent slump with his solo home run in the second and finished 1-for-4 with an RBI. It was an encouraging sign for the left fielder, who headed into Wednesday batting .174 (4-for-23) in eight games this season.

w Naturals right-hander Brooks Pounders (1-3) got off to a promising start by pitching three scoreless innings. But he was pulled in the top of the fifth after giving up an RBI double and allowed five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

w Naturals right fielder Roman Hernandez showed his arm strength in the top of the second when he threw out Corpus Christi first baseman Erik Castro, who had tried to stretch a hit into a double. Hernandez’s throw beat Castro to second base.

Extra Bases: Left-hander Zach Jackson, who joined the Naturals prior to Tuesday’s game against Corpus Christi, made his first appearance at Arvest Ballpark. He took the mound in the eighth and surrendered two hits and had one strikeout in two innings. … Northwest Arkansas threw out a pair of Corpus Christi base runners who tried to stretch hits into doubles.

Royals Pipeline: Tyler Sample allowed one earned run and five hits in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Carolina to drop his debut with Class A-Advanced Wilmington. Sample (0-1) recorded four strikeouts and walked four in 4 1/3 innings.

On Deck: The two teams will end a three-game series at 7 p.m. today. RHP Jason Adam (0-6, 7.15 ERA) is expected to earn the start on the mound for Northwest Arkansas, while Corpus Christi will send out RHP Jake Buchanan (5-0, 0.84).

Today’s Promotion: Farm Rich Cheese Sticks, peanuts and Coca-Colas will be sold for $1 during today’s game. Twenty-ounce Miller High Life beers will be available for $2.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com

CORPUS CHRISTI 5, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS 4

Corpus Christi^000^320^000^—^5^11^1

NW Arkansas^020^000^110^—^4^8^1

De Leon, Alaniz (5), and Escalona (8); Pounders, Garrido (5) and Jackson (8). W - Alaniz, 2-5. L - Pounders, 1-3. Sv - Escalona (1). HRs - NW Arkansas, Prades (5), Testa (1).

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