Naturals Shut Down Cardinals

STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER @NWASAMANTHA Hunter Dozier of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals swings at a pitch Friday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale during the game against the Springfield Cardinals.
STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER @NWASAMANTHA Hunter Dozier of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals swings at a pitch Friday at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale during the game against the Springfield Cardinals.

SPRINGDALE -- J.C. Sulbaran and Parker Morin enjoyed playing a lot of early pitch and catch Friday night.

Sulbaran struck out six of the first 11 batters he faced and pitched seven shutout innings, and Northwest Arkansas provided enough offense to give the right-hander a win with a 4-1 decision over Springfield at Arvest Ballpark.

NW Arkansas 4, Springfield 1

Springfield^000^000^010^—^1^8^0

NW Arkansas^030^000^10X^ —^4^10^0

Cornelius, Harris (7), Donofrio (8) and Stanley. Sulbaran, Wood (8), Triggs (9) and Morin. W - Sulbaran, 7-7. L - Cornelius, 9-8. Sv - Triggs (16). HRs - None.

At A Glance

Texas League Standings

North Division

Team^W-L^GB

Arkansas^18-16^—

Northwest Arkansas^17-18^1.5

Tulsa^15-19^3

Springfield^14-21^4.5

Friday’s Scores

Northwest Arkansas 4, Springfield 1

Tulsa at Arkansas (n)

Today’s Games

Tulsa at Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

Springfield at Northwest Arkansas, 7:35 p.m.

"Let me tell you: that's about as good a curveball as I've seen in my four years of managing," Naturals manager Vance Wilson said. "He was outstanding. He's got a good curveball, but for whatever reason it was special.

"He pounded the zone and threw strikes. All the parks in the Texas League, they're a little tough to see in early because of the shadows. When you have that kind of pitch that's hard to pick up -- and it's that good -- that's your recipe for strikeouts. He was using it in the right counts."

Sulburan (7-7) fanned a season-high nine Springfield batters and scattered four hits while not allowing a Cardinal baserunner to get past second base. Springfield (14-21) had a one-out double by Curt Smith in the fourth, but Sulbaran picked up a pair of infield flies to end any scoring threat and dropped his earned run average to 2.72 this season.

Northwest Arkansas (17-18) gave Sulbaran all the offense he needed in the second inning, when the Naturals batted through their lineup. Orlando Calixte had a one-out double and scored on a single by Edinson Rincon, then Justin Trapp and Angel Franco each added two-out RBI singles.

"We talk about having different guys doing something different each night," Wilson said. "When you get a guy like Trapp driving a run in and Angel drives a guy in, it helps. The lineup didn't just flip. It was just a good night all around for our guys."

Short Hops

• Franco extended his hitting streak to 11 games when he hit a two-out RBI single in the second. Franco is now tied with Lane Adams and Cheslor Cuthbert for the longest streak this season.

• Andrew Triggs pitched the ninth and allowed one hit en route to recording his 16th save of the season. That puts the Naturals closer into a tie with San Antonio's Johnny Barbato for the Texas League lead.

• Springfield starting pitcher Jonathan Cornelius (9-8) was denied the opportunity to become the Texas League's first 10-game winner. The Cardinals left-hander threw six innings and allowed three runs -- all in the second -- on six hits.

Extra Bases: The Naturals are now 4-0 this season when their lineup bats completely through in one inning, like they did in the second. ... Springfield picked up its only run in the eighth against Blake Wood, but Northwest Arkansas' outfield made a couple of key plays to prevent further damage, throwing a runner out at the plate and doubling another runner off of second. ... Franco entered Friday's game with the league's third-highest batting average (.343) since June 22, and he raised it to .350 (36 of 103) with a 2-for-4 outing.

Royals Pipeline: Jose Martinez hit an infield single, stole second and third and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday as Burlington took a 3-2 victory over Kingsport in the first game of an Appalachian (Rookie) League doubleheader.

On Deck: The Naturals and Cardinals continue their four-game series with a 7:35 p.m. start at Arvest Ballpark. Northwest Arkansas will start right-hander Christian Binford (2-1, 2.74), while Springfield counters with right-hander Kurt Heyer (3-8, 5.00)

Today's Promotion: Arvest Ballpark welcomes Midget Championship Wrestling for the second consecutive year. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., with wrestling action taking place from 5:50-6:50 p.m. The first 2,000 fans will also receive a free soccer ball.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com.

Sports on 07/26/2014

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