Texas League

Clutch hits sparks Northwest Arkansas to win

Naturals 5, Cardinals 3

SPRINGDALE -- Jorge Bonifacio and Ramon Torres provided the timely hits in clutch situations Wednesday, and Northwest Arkansas continued a recent spell of winning ways with a 5-3 victory against Springfield on Wednesday at Arvest Ballpark.

Torres came through with a two-out, RBI triple in the fifth and scored on the same play on a throwing error to give the Naturals (62-64) a brief, 3-2 lead. After a single run by Springfield in the sixth, Bonifacio the biggest of his three hits on the night in the bottom of the seventh.

NW Arkansas 5, Springfield 3

Springfield^002^001^000^ —^3^9^1

Northwest Arkansas^100^020^20x^ —^5^9^1

Springfield^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG

Tilson, CF^4^0^1^0^1^0^1^.293

O’Neill, DH^4^1^2^1^1^0^1^.286

Caldwell, 2B^5^1^1^2^0^1^4^.270

Rodriguez, Jon, 1B^5^0^2^0^0^0^1^.274

Washington, RF^4^0^0^0^1^1^1^.269

Ohlman, C^4^0^0^0^1^1^3^.281

Martini, LF^3^0^2^0^1^0^0^.267

Wisdom, 3B^3^0^0^0^1^1^3^.243

Valera, B, SS^4^1^1^0^0^1^3^.239

Totals^36^3^9^3^6^5^17^

HR: Caldwell (9, Farrell). TB: Valera, B, Tilson, Rodriguez 2, Caldwell 4, O’Neill 2, Martini 2. RBI: Caldwell 2 (47), O’Neill (13).

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, Valera, Caldwell, Ohlman, Wisdom. SF: Wisdom. Team RISP: 1-for-6. Team LOB: 12.

FIELDING

E: Caldwell (9, throw).

NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG

Torres, Ra, SS^3^2^1^1^1^0^2^.268

Starling, RF^3^0^1^1^1^0^0^.261

Bonifacio, J, DH^4^0^3^2^0^1^1^.240

Liddi, DH^4^0^0^0^0^3^5^.278

Adams, L, CF^3^0^0^0^0^0^2^.279

Dozier, 3B^4^0^0^0^0^1^3^.213

Schwindel, 1B^4^1^2^0^0^1^0^.229

Morin, P, C^4^1^1^0^0^0^2^.333

Gore, LF^3^1^1^0^0^0^1^.290

Totals^32^5^9^4^3^6^16^

2B; Starling (18), B0nifacio (29), Schwindel (7). 3B: Torres (1). TB: Schwindel 3, Gore, Torres, Morin, Bonifacio 4, Starling 2. RBI: Starling (29), Torres (12), Bonifacio 2 (62). 2-out RBI: Torres, Bonifacio 2.

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Adams, Dozier, Liddi, Morin. Team RISP: 2-for-12. Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING

E: Gore (4, fielding).

With two outs and two on, Bonifacio laced a single through the middle to score both Parker Morin and Terrance Gore for the final margin.

"(Bonifacio) had a big night," Naturals manager Vance Wilson said. "It's nice to see guys work at it and apply that to the game, especially in crucial situations. That's awesome."

Luke Farrell went five innings for Northwest Arkansas, allowing just one run before the bullpen took over the rest of the way. Mark Peterson closed out the ninth inning for his second save of the season.

Short Hops:

• Alex Liddi saw his Texas League-best hitting streak of 16 games come to an end with an 0-for-4 night at the plate. Liddi has hits in 19 0f the 21 games he has played in this month.

• Matt Murray picked up the win in relief for the Naturals, allowing one run and four hits in two innings with one walk and one strikeout.

• The Naturals are off to a 2-0 start to their final homestand of the regular season, and have now won five of the last seven overall.

Extra Bases: Former Natural and Arkansas Razorback Brett Eibner went 2-for-4 with an RBI at Omaha on Wednesday... Eibner now is hitting .307 this season with 72 RBIs.

On Deck: Game three of the four-game series is at 7 p.m. The Naturals will send right-handed pitcher Matt Murray (5-3, 4.43 ERA) to the mound. Springfield will start left-hander Jimmy Reed (2-3, 4.37 ERA).

Today's Promotion: Buck Night.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com

Sports on 08/27/2015

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