Tuesday, April 22, 2014
SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Arkansas is still looking for its first home win of the season.
Springfield broke open a 2-2 game with three runs in the fifth inning, and they recorded 14 hits in a 5-2 victory over the Naturals before 4,120 in Arvest Ballpark. Northwest Arkansas is o-7 at home this season.
How They Scored
Minor League Baseball
SPRINGFIELD 5, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS 2
Springfield^100^130^000^— 5^14^1
Northwest Arkansas^010^100^000^ — 2^9^0
Hald, Billbrough (6), Wright (7), Kiekhefer (9) and Stanley; Adam, Fassold (6), Alexander (8), Triggs (9) and Morin. W — Hald, 1-0. L Adam, 0-3. — . HRs — None
At A Glance
Texas League Standings
North Division
Team^W-L^GB
Springfield^9-8^—
Arkansas^7-9^1.5
Tulsa^7-9^1.5
Northwest Arkansas^4-13^5.0
Monday’s Scores
Tulsa at Arkansas, ppd. rain
Frisco 6, San Antonio 0
Springfield 5, Northwest Arkansas 2
Corpus Christi 5, Midland 2
Today’s Games
Springfield at Northwest Arkansas, 7:05 p.m.
San Antonio at Frisco, 7:10 p.m.
Midland at Corpus Christi, 7:10 p.m.
Tulsa at Arkansas (DH), 4:10 p.m.
The Naturals (4-13) dropped all six of their games in their first homestand of the season, and they have lost two straight after breaking a 10-game losing streak with a pair of wins last week at Tulsa.
Northwest Arkansas left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh innings while not scoring a run, and it stranded 11 base runners while going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Naturals had nine hits.
"Springfield had a lot of hits," Naturals manager Vance Wilson said. "Again, the offense couldn't come up with anything. We had some base runners. Offensively, we are looking for that one guy that can come up with that big hit that is contagious."
Short Hops:
• Naturals starter Jason Adam (0-3, 8.25 ERA) took the loss after giving up five runs and 10 hits in five innings of work. He struck out five, and four of the runs the Cardinals scored were earned.
• Springfield designated hitter Curt Smith was 3-for-5 with three singles and a RBI. He was 8-for-16 in a four-game series this past weekend against Arkansas.
• Naturals outfielder Jorge Bonifacio had two singles to extend his hitting streak to four games.
Extra Bases: Former Naturals hitting coach Terry Bradshaw is back in town. Bradshaw was the Naturals hitting coach for four seasons before being named the Royals Minor League roving hitting coordinator prior to the 2013 season. ... Naturals leadoff batter Brian Bocock also led off the third, fifth and seventh innings, reaching safely twice with a walk and a single.
Royals Pipeline: Class A-Advanced shortstop Raul Mondesi is batting .286, which is second-best among regular players on the Blue Rocks' roster. He is batting .297 over the last 10 games and had a five-game hitting streak snapped after an 0-for-4 performance Sunday. Mondesi, rated the No. 3 prospect in the Royals' system by MLB.com, is the son of former National League Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi.
On Deck: Naturals right-handed pitcher Tim Melville (0-0, 2.77 ERA) will throw the first pitch tonight against the Cardinals at 7:05 p.m. Springfield will send right-hander Seth Blair (1-0, 3.24 ERA) to the hill. Game three of the four-game series will be an 11:05 a.m. start Wednesday
Today's Promotion: It is an Arvest Two for Tuesday presented by Arvest Bank. Arvest account holders enjoy special 2-for-1 deals throughout the ballpark on tickets and select baseball hats.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 04/22/2014