12 innings, two hits, one victory

The Arkansas Travelers had more errors than hits Monday night, struck out 19 times and at one point their manager had to ask a fan sitting near the third-base dugout to quiet his heckling.

But the Travs, utilizing an unsightly two-out rally, eked out a 1-0 victory over the Tulsa Drillers in the bottom of the 12th inning at Dickey-Stephen Park in North Little Rock for their fourth consecutive victory.

Kentrail Davis scored from second base when pinch-hitter Anthony Bemboom's infield single drew an errant throw from Tulsa second baseman Brandon Dixon, which sailed over the head of first baseman Lars Anderson, allowing Davis, who reached on a two-out walk and advanced into scoring position after Wade Hinkle also walked.

Davis' run sent the Travs spilling out of a dugout to celebrate a victory in which they had only two hits in 35 at bats and committed three errors.

"I don't think you ever steal one, because they earned it," Arkansas Manager Bill Richardson said. "These guys have never shown any signs of giving up, and that's why it's fun to be in that dugout."

Monday night started with a moment of silence for former Travs' General Manager Bill Valentine, who died at 82 on Sunday after a short bout with cancer. It ended 3 hours, 53 minutes later, with a few fans remaining from the announced crowd 3,113, when Bemboom came off the bench as a pinch hitter.

Bemboom said he started thinking in the eighth inning his night off might include a pinch-hit opportunity at some point.

"You kind of run through the scenarios in your head, just go through and get mentally prepared and locked into the game," Bemboom said. "It was just one of those games, it was tough for anyone to scratch one by."

Bemboom's single was just the Travs' second hit, and their first since Chad Hinshaw's bloop single in the bottom of the first inning. In between were 11 innings over nearly four hours in which the Travs did nothing against four Drillers pitchers, including starter Julio Urias, an 18-year-old from Mexico who is ranked by MLB.com as the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball.

Urias struck out a career-high 10 batters, didn't walk any and faced the minimum through six innings.

"I'm glad I got to see him and I think the fans got to witness what a good-looking young kid he is," Richardson said.

Urias wasn't the only problem for the Travs, who entered an eight-game home stand on a three-game winning streak during which they scored 23 runs.

Chris Reed, Blake Smith, Jeremy Horst and Jorge DeLeon also kept the Travs' bats silent through the 11th inning. In the 12th, Cal Towey and Brian Hernandez each flew out before Davis and Hinkle walked.

That's when Richardson substituted Bemboom for Wright, who as 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Richardson said it was to get the left-handed Bemboom against the right-handed DeLeon. The strategy worked, as Bemboom dribbled a 1-1 slider to second base that proved to be just enough.

It ended a game in which the Travs had plenty of chances to lose.

In the second, Peter Lavin reached on a catcher's interference to load the bases with two outs, but Albert Suarez struck out Ali Solis to end the inning. In the fourth, Dixon hit a lead-off double and stole third base, but Suarez didn't allow another runner on.

In the 10th, right fielder Towey let a lazy fly ball fall out of his glove with two outs, allowing Jeremy Hazelbaker to reach. Then, Daniel Mayora's ground ball was bobbled by shortstop Sherman Johnson to put runners on the corners, before Corey Seager's ground ball up the middle was fielded by second-baseman Drew Maggi.

Then, in the bottom of the 10th Richardson walked from the third-base coaches box to speak to a fan sitting near the third-base dugout. Richardson said he told the fan that "men are trying to work" but the fan didn't quiet and moved to behind home plate.

The Drillers didn't get another hit, as the Travs were the ones who finally took advantage.

"That's a pretty good baseball game, especially in the Texas League," Richardson said. "It shows exactly what kind of pitching they got and what kind of pitching we've got. Very pleased."

Sports on 04/28/2015

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