The Arkansas Travelers opened Monday's game with their highest scoring inning of the season and then had to hold on to stay unbeaten.
The Travs scored six runs in the first inning, but needed two runs in the seventh to hold off the Midland RockHounds for an 8-7 victory at Security Bank Ballpark in Midland, Texas. The victory improved the Travs' record to 5-0, their best start since winning their first five games in 2005.
Sherman Johnson went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored, while Brian Hernandez and Michael Snyder each had 2 hits and 2 RBI for the Travs, who collected 11 hits to make up for a shaky first start of the season by Kyle McGowin.
McGowin, who missed the final three months of last season with an elbow injury, gave up 5 runs on 8 hits while striking out 3 and walking 3 in 5 innings.
But the Travs had scored more runs than McGowin would give up by the first inning.
Johnson, who improved his batting average to .353, led off with a double and Chad Hinshaw walked. Cal Towey singled to score Johnson to make it 1-0. Hinshaw scored on a groundout, Snyder hit an RBI single, Anthony Bemboom hit a two-run single and Eric Stamets added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Midland scored a run in the second and third innings each and got within 6-5 in the fifth inning when Chad Oberacker and Matt Olson each hit home runs.
The Travs added two more in the seventh. Johnson singled and scored on Hernandez' single, and Towey walked and scored on Snyder's single.
Danny Reynolds gave up 2 runs in the eighth, but Trevor Gott pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings to earn his first save.
ROUGHRIDERS 7, NATURALS 4
Frisco scored five runs in the sixth inning and Northwest Arkansas couldn't come back in the final three innings and lost for the fourth time in the season's first five games Monday night at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas.
Frisco took a 1-0 lead on Drew Robinson's home run in the fifth. It then pushed the margin to 6-0 in the sixth by scoring five runs with two outs, capped by Patrick Cantwell's two-run triple.
The Naturals got three runs in the seventh when Terrance Gore walked and scored on Angel Franco's double. Franco later scored on a groundout and Balbino Fuenmayor singled in Jorge Bonifacio.
Lane Adams added an RBI single in the eighth. J.C. Sulbaran (0-1) took the loss after giving up 1 run on 5 hits in 5 innings.
Sports on 04/14/2015