Texas League

Bemboom, Travs cool off Naturals

TRAVELERS 7, NATURALS 3

SPRINGDALE -- Arkansas took another step toward securing the second-half Texas League North Division title Saturday night.

The Travelers scored five runs in the fourth inning, keyed by a two-out, three-run double by Anthony Bemboom, en route to a 7-3 win over Northwest Arkansas in front of 5,932 at Arvest Ballpark.

Arkansas 7, Northwest Arkansas 3

Arkansas^001^500^010^—^7^7^1

Northwest Arkansas^100^000^020^—^3^10^3

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

Sosa, LF ^4 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^2 ^1 ^.295

Johnson, S, 2B ^5 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^1 ^.206

Hinshaw, CF ^4 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^.272

Gomez, Ra, DH ^3 ^2 ^1 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^.295

Hernandez, B, 3B ^3 ^1 ^1 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^.254

Gailen, RF ^4 ^1 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^1 ^3 ^.224

Aguilera, 1B ^4 ^1 ^2 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^3 ^.200

Salcedo, SS ^2 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^4 ^.228

Bemboom, C ^3 ^0 ^1 ^4 ^0 ^0 ^2 ^.253

Totals ^32 ^7 ^7 ^6 ^4 ^6 ^14 ^

BATTING

2B: Aguilera (1), Gailen (14), Bemboom (7). TB: Hernandez, B; Gomez, Ra; Bemboom 2; Hinshaw; Gailen 2; Aguilera 3. RBI: Bemboom 4 (35), Hernandez, B (74), Gailen (40). SF: Bemboom. GIDP: Salcedo. RISP: 3-for-11. LOB: 4. SB: Hinshaw (21, 2nd base off Clemens/Evans), Salcedo (4, 2nd base off Stumpf/Evans), Sosa (8, 2nd base off Stumpf/Evans). CS: Sosa (3, 3rd base by Stumpf/Evans). E: Bemboom (4, throw).DP: (Ellis-Aguilera).

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

Mondesi, SS ^5 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^4 ^3 ^.261

Gore, CF ^5 ^0 ^2 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^.284

Bonifacio, J, LF ^3 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^2 ^.246

Liddi, 3B ^4 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^3 ^.282

Adams, L, RF ^4 ^0 ^2 ^2 ^0 ^1 ^1 ^.290

Evans, C ^4 ^0 ^2 ^0 ^0 ^2 ^2 ^.250

Schwindel, 1B ^4 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^3 ^.224

Morin, P, DH ^4 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^2 ^5 ^.319

Diekroeger, 2B ^3 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^1 ^.255

Totals ^36 ^3 ^10 ^3 ^2 ^10 ^20 ^

BATTING

2B: Adams, L (20). TB: Schwindel; Mondesi; Gore 2; Bonifacio, J; Liddi; Adams, L 3; Evans 2. RBI: Gore (16), Adams, L 2 (44). RISP: 2-for-11. LOB: 8. SB: Mondesi (18, 2nd base off Ellis/Bemboom), Gore (39, 2nd base off Ellis/Bemboom). E: Liddi 2 (12, fielding, fielding), Bonifacio, J (5, missed catch).

Arkansas ^IP ^H ^R ^ER ^BB ^SO ^HR ^ERA

Ellis (W, 7-3) ^5.0 ^7 ^1 ^1 ^1 ^4 ^0 ^3.41

Santos, Ed ^2.0 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^3 ^0 ^2.50

Hyatt ^1.0 ^2 ^2 ^2 ^1 ^2 ^0 ^5.31

Mahle ^1.0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^0 ^2.84

NW Arkansas ^IP ^H ^R ^ER ^BB ^SO ^HR ^ERA

Clemens (L, 0-1) ^3.2 ^5 ^6 ^6 ^2 ^2 ^0 ^9.31

Pruneda ^1.1 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^0 ^4.11

Stumpf ^2.0 ^1 ^0 ^0 ^1 ^3 ^0 ^3.72

Nina ^2.0 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^1 ^1 ^0 ^5.40

Balk: Ellis.

Pitches-strikes: Ellis 89-56, Santos, Ed 33-22, Hyatt 30-19, Mahle 10-7, Clemens 65-41, Pruneda 14-12, Stumpf 27-18, Nina 29-15.

Umpires: HP: Nate Tomlinson. 1B: Clayton Hamm. 3B: Clay Park.

T: 2:53. Att: 5,932.

Arkansas (32-29) maintains its hold on first place in the North Division, leading second-place Springfield by four games with nine to play. The Naturals leads the season series 14-8, but the Travelers have now won eight of the last 10 meetings.

Travelers Manager Bill Richardson acknowledged Bemboom's bases-clearing double was key. The left-handed hitting catcher came into the game with just three hits in his last 18 at-bats, but slapped an elevated 2-2 pitch from Naturals' starter Paul Clemens (0-1) into the left-center field gap to give Arkansas a 6-1 lead.

"That was the at-bat of the game for sure," Richardson said. "The way he battled through it against a tough right-hander. I was pleased for him."

Northwest Arkansas Manager Vance Wilson said it was his call to leave Clemens, who had struggled in the inning, to face Bemboom with the bases loaded and two outs.

"We're trying to work his pitch count up," Wilson said. "He's a veteran guy. It was my call. He kind pitched around that guy, stuck out the other. I said 'OK, let's see what he can do.' But you've got to tip your cap to Bemboom, too.

"We hit some balls hard, but got some bloop hits as well. This is gonna be a fun series. They're playing for something. It's going to be a challenge for us."

Clemens got Sherman Johnson on a pop-up to the first baseman leading off the big fourth inning, but the next four Travelers reached base. Brian Hernandez gave Arkansas the 2-1 lead with an RBI-single and Blake Gailen followed with a run-scoring double.

Clemens struck out Eric Alguilera, but walked Erick Salcedo to bring up Bemboom.

Bemboom also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning to tie the game 1-1. Alguilera also went 2 for 4 and scored a run for the Travelers.

Richardson said his team has struggled with consistency, but it could all be coming together at the right time. He also admitted the Naturals are in a different spot, already having a spot in the playoffs locked up by winning the first-half division title.

"We won 11 out of 12, then we lost 11 out of 12," Richardson said. "Then we won seven and then we lost two. One thing during those losses we pitched and played catch really well. So now the hitting's starting to come around a little bit. Hopefully, it's at the right time.

"It's day-to-day for us, but they are looking down the road a little bit."

SHORT HOPS

• Arkansas outfielder Ruben Sosa had his 16-game hitting streak snapped. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and stole a base.

Extra Bases: The Naturals bullpen pitched 5.1 innings and did not allow an earned run. ... Northwest Arkansas outfielder Terrance Gore went 2 for 5 with a pair of infield hits, drove in a run and stole his 39th base. ... Travelers starter Chris Ellis improved to 7-3, allowing a run over five innings.

Today's promotion: The first 1,000 fans will receive a Jack Link's Jerky T-shirt. Kids 12-and-under eat free and can run the bases following the game. There will also be a post-game fireworks display.

On Deck: The Naturals continue their final regular-season homestand against Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas sends Texas League postseason All-Star Jonathan Dziedzic (9-6 2.92 ERA) to the mound against Sean Newcomb (2-0 1.29).

On The Air: 92.1-FM, The Ticket

On The Web: www.naturals.com

Paul Boyd can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.

Sports on 08/30/2015

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