Binford Solid Again For Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Special to NWA Media David J. Beach Maikol Gonzalez of the Travelers gets picked off Monday by first baseman Cheslor Cuthbert of the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
Special to NWA Media David J. Beach Maikol Gonzalez of the Travelers gets picked off Monday by first baseman Cheslor Cuthbert of the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- Christian Binford is starting to find his groove for Northwest Arkansas.

Binford pitched seven strong innings and Jorge Bonifacio had three hits Monday to lead the Naturals to a 6-3 victory over Arkansas before a crowd of 4,839 at Arvest Ballpark. Binford (2-1) went seven innings for the second consecutive game while making his fourth start since being promoted from Class-A Advanced Wilmington. The 6-foot-6 right-hander struck out seven and allowed one earned run on six hits.

How They Scored

Northwest Arkansas 6, Arkansas 3

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Roth, Reynolds (7) and Bandy; Binford, Alexander (8) and Gibbs. WP - Binford (2-1) LP - Roth (8-6) HR — Bandy (9), Bianucci (8).

"(Binford) was up early and gave up a home run," said Vance Wilson, Northwest Arkansas manager. "(Arkansas) has some older guys in the lineup with some pop, but he settled down and did a good job of keeping them off balance."

Northwest Arkansas took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on a two-out, two-run single by Ethan Chapman. Arkansas cut the lead to 3-2 with the help of two errors in the fifth, but the Naturals responded with two more runs in the seventh to lead 5-2.

Bonifacio had a two-out RBI single in the seventh followed by an RBI double by Cheslor Cuthburt off the right field fence.

Jeff Bandy hit a long home run in the second half to give Arkansas a 1-0 lead. Micah Gibbs tied it with an RBI double then added an RBI double in the eighth to give the Naturals (40-61) a 6-2 lead.

Michael Bianucci hit a home run in the ninth inning for the Travelers (50-51).

Short Hops

Northwest Arkansas right-hander Andy Ferguson (Benton/Arkansas State) was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week. Ferguson threw a complete-game shutout in a victory over Springfield and seven strong innings in a loss to Tulsa. Ferguson allowed four hits and struck out four during a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. His is only the ninth Northwest Arkansas pitcher to throw a complete game in the franchise's history.

Ferguson follows Naturals' right-hander Jason Adams, who was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 7-14.

Extra Bases: Arkansas' first two batters didn't stay long after reaching on singles to start the game. Maikol Gonzales was picked off by Northwest Arkansas starter Christian Binford after he singled sharply up the middle to begin the game. No. 2 hitter Alex Yarbrough also got a hit up the middle, but he was thrown out by catcher Micah Gibbs while trying to steal second base ... Arkansas starter Michael Roth showed his athleticism when he scooped a low throw on the run and beat a runner to first base in the seventh inning. Northwest Arkansas Manager Vance Wilson argued the call on the close play, but the ruling stood.

Royals Pipeline: Four pitchers struck out 10 and combined on a two-hit shutout to give Wilmington a 1-0 victory over Lynchburg on Monday. Blake Wood (2-1) pitched two innings to pick up the victory for the Blue Rocks.

On Deck: Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas will continue their series tonight at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Tim Melville (1-9, 5.04 ERA) will start for the Naturals against left-hander Buddy Boshers (0-3, 3.06 ERA) for the Travelers.

Today's Promotion: Arvest Two for Tuesday, where Ozark Electric customers can receive buy-one, get-one free tickets at the box office.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.naturals.com

Sports on 07/22/2014

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