SPRINGDALE -- The first-half champion of the Texas League's North Division may be decided on the final day of play.
Erick Mejia singled sharply with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to earn Northwest Arkansas a 4-3 win against Arkansas before 3,642 at Arvest Ballpark on Sunday.
The win by Northwest Arkansas (34-35) over Arkansas (35-34), as well as a win by Tulsa (34-35) over Springfield on Sunday, makes for an exciting day on today when the North could end up in a three-way tie as the first half comes to a close. Then the first-half champion would be determined by games involving those teams against teams they are tied with in their next meetings against those teams. That's amazing for the Naturals, who suffered through a 7-16 start in April but is 27-19 since.
"My hat's off to them," Naturals manager Mike Rojas said. "They never quit. They kept grinding it out. The pitching was so-so and they picked it up. Our offense and our defense have been tremendous all year. They battled every game. We were nine games under .500 at one point. Now, we're one game under and one game out with a chance to win the first half. My hat's off to that ball club."
Northwest Arkansas will start Scott Blewett today against the Travelers, and will try to ride the momentum of a win in the final at-bat.
"There's momentum," Rojas said. "They battled, too. They're a pretty good ball club. We were on our home field. We've got the big dog on the mound, Blewett. He's been pitching very well. Hopefully, he gives us a chance to score some runs and holds them in check, and tie it all up and see what happens the following day. It's huge."
Sunday, the Naturals' bullpen of Yunior Marte, Gabe Speier, Walker Sheller and Jake Newberry held Arkansas to one run. Along with starter Zach Lovvorn, Northwest Arkansas held the top three hitters in the order to just two hits.
"That was tremendous," Rojas said. "The bullpen has done a helluva job all year. They stepped up again today and gave us a chance tomorrow."
Those four relievers out of the bullpen recorded the final 11 outs after Marte entered for Lovvorn with an out in the sixth and two runners on.
"It played itself out, mix and match," Rojas said. "It gave us a chance to win the ball game."
The Northwest Arkansas pitching staff also pitched around Eric Fillia, who was walked twice intentionally, both times with a runner on second.
"Fillia's a good hitter," Rojas said. "I'm not going to give him an opportunity with runners in scoring position to get a base hit or a double or a home run. Our guys did a great job with the other guys. They battled. It gives us another chance for tomorrow."
Tied at 2-2, Nicky Lopez hit a mammoth home run for the Naturals in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Arkansas tied it up in the top of the ninth.
Yonathan Mendoza led off with a liner past Naturals first baseman Alex Liddi with one out. After a fly ball, Mendoza scored all the way from first on Chuck Taylor's single to the gap in right center. Mendoza, running on the hit with two outs, scored ahead of second baseman Mejia's low throw to the plate that Nathan Esposito couldn't handle to tie the game at 3-3.
In the bottom of the inning, Liddi doubled to deep center to lead off. Esposito walked and Brandon Downes sacrificed pinch-runner John Brontsema and Esposito up a base.
With the infield drawn in, second baseman Donnie Walton handled Donnie Dewees' infield chopper and threw Brontsema out at home, but Mejia followed with a hard ground ball single into left field to score Esposito for the game winner.
SHORT HOPS
• Northwest Arkansas, Arkansas and Tulsa could end up winning the first-half with just 35 wins, which last happened in 2015 when Arkansas was 35-35 to win the second-half championship.
• Northwest Arkansas has five walk-off wins this season after the 4-3 win on Sunday.
• The Naturals are 27-19 in May and June, which is the second-best record during that time in the Texas League behind only San Antonio.
On Deck: The Texas League first-half concludes with the Naturals hosting in-state rival Arkansas. Righty Scott Blewett (4-4, 5.04) will take the mound for Northwest Arkansas while Nathan Bannister (4-5, 5.70) earns the start for the Travelers. Blewett is 1-1 against the Travelers this season with a 4.76 earned run average. Bannister's four wins have been against Tulsa twice, Springfield and Corpus Christi this season. He has a loss to Northwest Arkansas on May 7.
Tonight's Promotion: Ozarks Electric Cooperative Corporation will sponsor $5 Dugout Premium Ticket night at Arvest Ballpark for Ozarks Electric Cooperative customers, which must show proof of being a customer. Tyson Foods will sponsor Dollar Hot Dogs while Indigo Sky Casino will sponsor bingo for prizes. The final of three Mercy Kids Most-Improved Student dates will feature a pre-game recognition. Approximately 1,000 students were nominated by 700 teachers from 175 different schools. Each nominated student received two free tickets and a Kansas City Royals Kids Zone pass to one of the designated games of their choice as well as a certificate and a price pack courtesy of Mercy Kids.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 06/18/2018