SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Arkansas had its chances of escaping the fifth inning with minimal damage Monday night.
When the Naturals failed to get an out on any of those early chances, Arkansas made sure Northwest Arkansas paid for those mistakes. The Travelers eventually sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs en route to an 8-1 victory in Texas League action at Arvest Ballpark.
Arkansas^000^160^010^—^8^11^1
NW Arkansas^010^000^000^—^1^5^1
Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Miller, I, CF^4^1^1^0^1^1^2^.340
Kobernus, 2B^5^1^2^2^0^1^0^.279
Taylor, C, RF^5^1^0^0^0^1^3^.338
Pizzano, LF^4^2^2^1^1^0^1^.328
Littlewood, C^5^1^2^1^0^0^1^.271
Petty, 1B^3^0^2^1^2^0^0^.248
Wong, SS^4^0^2^2^1^1^1^.274
Seager, DH^5^0^0^0^0^3^7^.214
Ward, 3B^2^2^0^0^1^2^2^.259
Totals^37^8^11^7^6^9^17^
HR: Pizzano (3). RBI: Pizzano (11); Kobernus 2 (9); Littlewood (13); Petty (14); Wong 2 (18). 2-out RBI: Pizzano. Team RISP: 6-for-15. Team LOB: 9. SB: Petty (2); Ward (5); Miller, I (22). E: Taylor, C (2).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Lopez, Jac, 2B^3^0^1^0^1^0^0^.308
Arteaga, SS^4^0^1^0^0^0^1^.297
Duenez, 1B^4^0^0^0^0^0^3^.264
Moon, RF^4^0^0^0^0^2^2^.245
Dewees Jr., CF^4^0^0^0^0^1^2^.247
Escalera, LF^4^1^1^0^0^0^0^.279
Dini, DH^3^0^1^0^0^0^0^.500
Morin, P, C^3^0^1^0^0^1^1^.100
Diaz, C, 3B^3^0^0^0^0^1^1^.118
Totals^32^1^5^0^1^5^10^
Team RISP: 0-for-4. Team LOB: 5. E: Diaz, C (3). DP: 2.
Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
DeFratus (W, 2-1)^6.0^4^1^0^1^3^0^5.19
Perry, B^2.0^1^0^0^0^1^0^4.55
Vieira^1.0^0^0^0^0^1^0^3.86
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Ogando (L, 3-4)^4.0^8^7^6^3^4^1^3.92
Fernandez, P^3.0^2^0^0^0^5^0^3.09
Selman^2.0^1^1^1^3^0^0^3.38
Ogando pitched to 7 batters in the 5th.
WP: Selman. IBB: Pizzano (by Ogando). HBP: Ward (by Selman).
Pitches-strikes: DeFratus 91-63; Perry, B 24-17; Vieira 8-7; Ogando 84-52; Fernandez, P 43-31; Selman 37-16.
Umpires: HP: Malachi Moore. 1B: Tyler Olson. 3B: Sean Allen.
T: 2:44. Att: 3,492.
"They made a couple of mistakes, and we were able to take advantage of them," Arkansas manager Daren Brown said. "We've been on the other side of that -- where it starts snowballing and you can't get it to stop. It happens to both sides, and we happened to be the ones on the right side."
Arkansas' Ian Miller followed Nelson Ward's leadoff walk with a bunt that Northwest Arkansas third baseman Carlos Diaz failed to field, giving the Travelers (29-33) runners at first and second. Jeff Kobernus then gave Arkansas the lead when his single drove in Ward and moved Miller to third, and a crazy turn of events ensued.
Kobernus appeared to be picked off after he broke for second against Emilio Ogando (3-4), but he slid under a high tag by shortstop Humberto Arteaga for a stolen base. Miller then wandered too far off third when Chuck Taylor hit a grounder back to Ogando, and the rundown began.
Diaz, however, was called for obstruction when he bumped into Miller after he made his throw to the plate. That allowed Miller to score instead of becoming the first out, while Kobernus ended up at third and Taylor at second.
"Defensively, we don't make very many mistakes," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said. "That was uncharacteristic of us. It hurt us, obviously.
"A missed tag, the bunt and the defensive interference right there. That's something we don't deal with very often, but we have to turn the page."
Arkansas wasn't finished scoring at that point. When the Naturals (32-30) elected to intentionally walk Dario Pizzano and load the bases, Marcus Littlewood and Kyle Petty each hit singles and drove in a run apiece, and Joey Wong greeted reliever Pedro Fernandez with a two-run single to right to cap the scoring.
"Those things happened, but we were able to string some things together," Brown said. "We took advantage of some things and put together a big inning. Everything worked out for us in that inning."
Short Hops:
• Despite the loss, the Naturals maintain a one-game lead in the North Division standings with seven games remaining in the first half. Tulsa defeated Springfield by a 4-3 margin earlier Monday, and those two teams are tied for second.
• Alfredo Escalera had a two-out single in the second for the game's first hit, then he scored Northwest Arkansas' only run when he went to third on Nick Dini's bloop single and raced home when the throw eluded Arkansas catcher Littlewood.
• Pizzano accounted for Arkansas' first run when he belted a solo home run just inside the left-field foul pole with two out in the fourth inning.
On Deck: The two teams will close out their four-game series with a 12:05 p.m. game today at Arvest Ballpark. Northwest Arkansas will send right-hander Corey Ray (4-3, 4.43 ERA) to the mound, while Arkansas will counter with right-hander Dylan Unsworth (4-5, 4.42).
Today's Promotion: It's Summer Camp Day, where local campers and chaperones can receive discounted tickets for the game if purchased in advance.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 06/13/2017