SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Arkansas pitcher Miguel Almonte wasn't at his best Thursday night, but the Naturals hitters made sure it didn't matter.
Mike Bianucci took the Texas League lead in home runs with a two-run shot and Raul Mondesi added a solo blast as the Naturals banged out 20 hits to claim a 10-3 victory over Arkansas in Arvest Ballpark.
Northwest Arkansas 10, Arkansas 4
Arkansas^000^1111^001^—^4^7^0
Northwest Arkansas^021^031^21x^—^10^20^0
Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Johnson, S, 2B^4^2^1^1^1^1^2^.212
Maggi, SS^2^0^0^0^3^1^0^.302
Towey, RF^4^0^0^0^1^1^7^.234
Hernandez, B, 3B^5^0^1^2^0^1^2^.291
Hinkle, 1B^4^1^1^0^1^1^2^.261
Davis, Ke, CF^4^0^1^1^0^2^1^.221
Bond, DH^4^1^1^0^0^2^2^.219
Wright, Z, C^3^0^2^0^0^0^0^.140
Mitchell, J, LF^3^0^0^0^1^2^4^.118
Totals^33^4^7^4^7^11^20^
BATTING
2B: Hinkle, Davis, Ke, Johnson, S, Hernandez, B. RBI: Davis, Ke (12), Hernandez, B 2 (33), Johnson, S (19). 2-out RBI: Hernandez, B. RISP: 2-for-12. LOB: 10.
SB: Johnson, S, Maggi. FIELDING DP: (Johnson, S-Maggi-Hinkle).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Gore, CF^5^0^1^0^0^1^4^.289
Mondesi, SS^5^1^2^3^0^2^2^.296
Bonifacio, J, RF^4^1^3^0^1^1^2^.240
Fuenmayor, 1B^5^0^1^0^0^0^4^.364
Dozier, DH^5^2^3^0^0^1^2^.238
Evans, C^5^2^3^2^0^0^3^.438
Bianucci, LF^5^1^1^2^0^1^6^.310
Liddi, 3B^4^2^3^2^1^1^0^.285
Diekroeger, 2B^4^1^3^1^0^0^1^.750
Totals^42^10^20^10^2^7^24^
BATTING
2B: Bonifacio, J, Evans 2, Diekroeger, Mondesi. HR: Bianucci, Mondesi. RBI: Bianucci 2 (25), Mondesi 3 (6), Evans 2 (5), Liddi 2 (19), Diekroeger (1).
2-out RBI: Liddi 2; Diekroeger; Evans. SAC: Diekroeger. GIDP: Fuenmayor. RISP: 6-for-18. LOB: 11. SB: Gore. FIELDING — DP: (Mondesi-Diekroeger-Fuenmayor).
Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Busenitz (L, 1-4)^4.2^11^6^6^1^6^2^6.63
O’Grady^0.1^1^0^0^0^0^0^1.84
Wood, A^3.0^8^4^4^1^1^0^4.30
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Almonte^4.0^4^2^2^3^5^0^2.92
Selman (W, 1-0)^1.2^2^1^1^2^2^0^3.71
Stumpf (H, 2)^2.1^0^0^0^0^4^0^2.22
Nina^1.0^1^1^1^2^0^0^6.75
Almonte pitched to 2 batters in the 5th.
HBP: Wright, Z (by Almonte).
Umpires: HP: Mike Cascioppo. 1B: Jake Wilburn. 3B: Scott Costello.
T: 3:17. Att: 3,894.
Northwest Arkansas (28-12) pushed its lead in the Texas League North Division to 6.5 games and improved to 8-0 this season against the Travelers. The red-hot Naturals have now won 22 of their last 25 games.
Naturals manager Vance Wilson admitted the offense picked up Almonte and reliever Sam Selman, who both struggled.
"Almonte didn't have his best stuff. Selman didn't have his best stuff," Wilson said. "So it's always nice when the offense give you a cushion. The offense did a great job answering back when they did score. All-around great game. When you get 20 hits against a great staff, two good arms. It's impressive."
The Travelers pulled to within 3-2 with a run in the fifth, but Northwest Arkansas countered with three in the bottom of the inning, including two after two men were out.
Alex Liddi slapped an RBI single up the middle and Kenny Diekroeger followed that with a run-scoring double for a 6-2 Naturals lead. Bianucci's 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second gave the Naturals the lead and they never looked back.
Almonte, the reigning Texas League Pitcher of the Week, extended his scoreless innings streak to 19.1 before giving up a run in the third. The right-hander gave up two runs in four innings of work, but did not get the win. He struggled with his command, throwing 80 pitches, just 46 for strikes.
Short Hops
• The Travelers tried the hidden ball trick with runners at the corners and one out in the bottom of the fourth. Arkansas third baseman Brian Hernandez tried to catch Liddi off third. But the umpire said Liddi got back.
• Diekroeger made his Naturals debut on Thursday, after being called up from Class A advanced Wilmington. The fourth-round draft pick in 2012 went 3-for-3, drove in a run and scored one.
• Hunter Dozier, Zane Evans and Jorge Bonifacio and Liddi all finished with three hits apiece for the Naturals. Mondesi drove in three runs,while Bianucci, Liddi and Evans drove in two each.
Extra Bases: The Naturals boosted their Texas League-leading home run total to 48. ... All nine Naturals in the batting order managed at least one hit. ... Northwest Arkansas reliever Daniel Stumpf retired all seven batters he faced, striking out four. ... Catcher Zach Wright was the lone Traveler with more than one hit, finishing 2-3 with two singles4
On Deck: Right-hander Luke Farrell (0-0 54.00 ERA) will get the start in the series opener for the Naturals against Tulsa at 7:05 p.m. The Drillers will counter with RHP Jose De Leon (0-1 4.70 ERA).
Today's Promotion: There will be a post-game fireworks display, the first of three consecutive days of fireworks to celebrate Memorial Day.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com.
Sports on 05/22/2015