Springfield Completes Four-Game Sweep Of Northwest Arkansas

 STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Angel Franco, Northwest Arkansas Naturals second baseman, throws to first against the Springfield Cardinals during the third inning Friday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Angel Franco, Northwest Arkansas Naturals second baseman, throws to first against the Springfield Cardinals during the third inning Friday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- The Springfield Cardinals stayed hot and sent Northwest Arkansas to its sixth consecutive loss in front of a crowd of 7,318 at Arvest Ballpark.

Springfield second baseman Breyvic Valera used his bat and his glove to help the Cardinals come away with a 3-2 win over the Naturals and a sweep of the four-game series on Friday night.

How They Scored

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Mayers, Harris (7), Donofrio (9) and Stanley; Sulbaran, Nina (3), Arguilles (6), Culver (8) and Morin. W-Mayers, 5-5. L-Sulbaran, 8-9. Sv-Donofrio (13).

Valera went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. He also made a big defensive play to end the sixth and keep the Cardinals in front.

The Cardinals pitching staff did the rest. Starter Mike Mayers (5-5) won his third consecutive starter, allowing two runs over six innings. Reliever Mitch Harris pitched two scoreless innings and closer Joey Donofrio notched his 13th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. It was his third save in the series.

Springfield (29-30, 63-66) has now won 12 of its last 15 games. The Naturals fell to 26-33 in the second half and 51-78 for the season.

Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said the Cardinals pitching was tough on Friday night.

"They are a good team," Wilson said. "I always thought when they were down they were a better team than they showed. But their pitching was outstanding. They challenged us and they got us to swing at their stuff. Partly you've got to tip you cap. We're just kinda hitting a rough patch at the wrong time of the year."

The Cardinals scored all three runs in the top of the third as Valera tripled off the right-center field wall to score Rafeal Ortega against Naturals starter J.C. Sulbaran (8-9). The Northwest Arkansas starter left the game because of a blister on his pitching hand with two outs in the inning. But Springfield greeted reliever Aronia Nina with back-to-back RBI-singles for a 3-0 lead.

The Naturals pulled within 3-2 thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jorge Bonifacio and a bases-loaded walk by Chapman in the fourth. However, Northwest Arkansas left the bases loaded when Lane Adams grounded out.

Short Hops:

• Friday was the second Faith and Family Night promotion of the season for the Naturals. The first one on May 9 drew a crowd of 8,035, which ranks No. 8 all-time. Friday's festivities included a free concert by Christian recording artist Chris August prior to the game and postgame fireworks.

• Sulbaran recently was selected as having the Best Changeup in a poll of Texas League managers, which was published recently in Baseball America. The right-hander struggled a year ago pitching mostly out of the bullpen for the Naturals and Class A Wilmington. He went a combined 4-7 with a 6.16 ERA and two saves in 80.1 innings. Going into Friday's start he was 8-8 with a 3.01 ERA, which ranks seventh in the league.

Extra Bases: The Naturals have been outscored 13-3 after the sixth inning during their six-game losing streak. ... Justin Trapp went 3-for-4 to lead the Naturals offense. ... Northwest Arkansas stranded 10 runners in the game.

Royals Pipeline: Former Naturals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert contributed an RBI single as a pinch hitter for Triple-A Omaha in the Storm Chasers' 7-3 loss to Tacoma on Thursday. Cuthbert is hitting .263 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 15 games at Omaha since being called up from Northwest Arkansas.

On Deck: The Naturals start the final road trip of the season at North Little Rock against the Travelers. Game time is 7:10 p.m. RHP Sugar Ray Marimon (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for the Naturals, while Orangel Arenas (5-7, 3.72 ERA) will start for the Travelers.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com

Sports on 08/23/2014

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