SPRINGDALE -- Parker Morin finally experienced something for the first time in his baseball career Saturday night -- a game-winning hit and the shaving cream pie that immediately follows it.
Northwest Arkansas' catcher capped a three-hit night in glorious fashion when he belted a two-run triple over the head of Springfield centerfielder Mike O'Neill with one out in the ninth inning and gave the Naturals a come-from-behind 6-5 victory at Arvest Ballpark.
Springfield^010^201^001^—^5^14^0
NW Arkansas^100^120^002^—^6^11^2
One out when winning run scored.
Springfield^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Tilson, DH^3^1^1^0^2^0^2^.294
O’Neill, CF^4^0^2^0^1^1^0^.330
Garcia, A, LF^5^0^2^1^0^1^3^.276
Rodriguez, Jon, 1B^5^0^1^0^0^0^5^.278
Ohlman, C^5^2^2^0^0^1^5^.304
Wisdom, 3B^5^1^2^1^0^1^3^.271
Washington, RF^4^0^1^0^0^0^2^.264
Diaz, A, SS^4^0^2^0^0^0^2^.244
Valera, B, 2B^4^1^1^2^0^0^4^.238
Totals^39^5^14^4^3^4^26^
2B: Wisdom 2 (18), Valera, B (7), Diaz, A (19). RBI: Wisdom (51), Valera, B 2 (25), Garcia, A (40). Team LOB: 10. SB: Tilson 2 (36). CS: Tilson (14). DP: 1 (Valera, B-Diaz, A-Rodriguez, Jon).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Torres, Ra, 2B^4^1^1^0^0^1^1^.250
Mondesi, SS^4^0^1^0^0^1^0^.234
Adams, L, LF^4^1^2^1^0^2^2^.292
Bonifacio, J, RF^4^0^1^1^0^1^1^.237
Dozier, 3B^4^0^0^0^0^1^3^.218
Starling, CF^3^2^1^0^1^1^2^.276
Liddi, DH^4^0^1^1^0^2^1^.270
Schwindel, 1B^4^0^1^0^0^1^1^.218
Diekroeger, PR^0^1^0^0^0^0^0^.283
Morin, P, C^4^1^3^3^0^1^0^.362
Totals^35^6^11^6^1^11^11^
2B: Liddi (26). 3B: Morin, P (5). HR: Morin, P (3), Adams, L (8). RBI: Bonifacio, J (55), Liddi (43), Morin, P 3 (20), Adams, L (33). Team LOB: 5. E: Binford (3), Dozier (15). PB: Morin, P (8). DP: 1 (Mondesi-Torres, Ra-Schwindel).
Springfield^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Reed^5.0^7^4^4^0^7^2^3.70
Baker, C^3.0^2^0^0^0^3^0^3.92
Perry (BS, 1)(L, 0-1)^0.1^2^2^2^1^1^0^5.02
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Binford^6.0^10^4^3^2^1^0^4.74
McCarthy (W, 1-0)^3.0^4^1^1^1^3^0^3.00
WP: Reed, Baker, C. Balk: McCarthy.
Pitches-strikes: Reed 89-61, Baker, C 35-23, Perry 15-9, Binford 100-60, McCarthy 58-37.
Umpires: HP: Ramon Hernandez. 1B: Derek Eaton. 3B: Sean Allen.
T: 2:54. Att: 5,005.
"We've been scuffling offensively a little bit," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson. "With that being said, we never gave up. Outstanding job by Bubba (Starling) to get on base and (Frank) Schwindel getting that hit.
"It was a tough couple of pitches on Parker to begin with, but he didn't get down. They're playing in to throw the tying run out, and it was awesome. Good for the guys."
Springfield (49-57, 19-17 second half) had taken a 5-4 lead on Anthony Garcia's single in the top of the ninth. Starling led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk, then Schwindel belted a single through the left side one out later.
That set the stage for Morin, who had earlier hit a solo home run and a single. He took the first two pitches for strikes against Chris Perry (0-1), then he belted the shot well over O'Neill's head and sent both runners home.
"The first one was close, but I thought the second pitch was a ball," Morin said. "The third pitch, I'm just trying to battle. I'm trying to put the ball into play and stay out of the double play, at least move one runner into scoring position.
"He left a fastball in the middle of the zone, and I was able to be quick with the bat. I put a good swing on it. Once I saw the centerfielder turn and I could see his numbers, I knew I could at least get the runs in to score."
Morin's hit made a winner out of reliever Kevin McCarthy (1-0), who joined the team earlier in the day after being promoted from Class-A Advanced Wilmington. The right-hander threw three innings and only allowed the ninth-inning run.
"It was an unbelievable, gutsy performance," Wilson said. "We needed it. We're kind of down, pitchingwise. So it was good for that kid to come in and do what he did was, especially with what I thought was a bad call on a balk. Now the kid has to change something in his delivery, but he was incredible with his composure."
Short Hops
• Lane Adams extended his hitting streak to 15 games and gave the Naturals a brief 4-3 lead with his solo home run in the sixth, right after Morin had tied the game with his home run. Adams is now tied with Mike Bianucci for the Naturals' longest hit streak this season.
• Springfield cleanup batter Jonathan Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a third-inning single.
Extra Bases: Springfield's Jimmy Reed, Corey Baker and Reed combined to strike out 11 Northwest Arkansas batters, giving Cardinals pitchers 40 through the first three games of the series. ... Northwest Arkansas committed two errors, and each of them allowed Springfield to score a run. ... The Cardinals finished with 14 hits, with five players each getting two hits.
On Deck: The Naturals and Cardinals conclude their four-game series with a 6:05 p.m. game today. Both teams have yet to announce a starting pitcher.
Today's Promotion: The first 1,500 fans to today's game will received a commemorative Naturals cap, courtesy of Coca-Cola. It's also a "kids eat free" Sunday, and kids will have the opportunity to run the bases after the game.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 08/02/2015