CLASS AA-CENTRAL

Trav entertains special guests with clutch hit

Josh Morgan lingered just beyond the end of the Travs' dugout after Wednesday night's game.

The second baseman waved to what appeared to be a group of friends, then stood for a minute. It looked as if Morgan was waiting for a teammate to emerge to walk back toward the clubhouse.

Instead, he kept his eyes on the stands. Morgan's parents were on their way down from the concourse.

"It's always hard to try to make sure I'm not doing too much with them here," Morgan said.

It was more than enough for the Travelers as Morgan dropped a two-out, bases-clearing double into shallow center in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Arkansas to an 8-5 victory at Dickey-Stephens Park.

The Travs batted around after Joe Rizzo led off the inning with a home run to tie the game at 5-5. The club's hottest hitter -- Morgan extended his hitting streak to seven games with a pair of base knocks -- came through when the possibility of back-to-back extra-inning contests looked quite real.

"It's very rewarding," Morgan said of his game-winning hit. "You know how much work you're putting in, day in and day out. I'm just blessed to be here, man -- to have the opportunity and to come through in the opportunity. It doesn't always happen, but tonight it did."

Morgan, who doubles as the Travs' backup catcher, has seen more time in the infield lately with regular shortstop Jordan Cowan sidelined by a shoulder injury. Despite entering the night with a .241 average, Morgan slotted into the No. 2 hole for a second consecutive game, getting the benefit of having power bats Jake Scheiner and Brian O'Keefe behind him.

In the third inning, Connor Lien got things going with a double down the left-field line, and Bobby Honeyman reached on a swinging bunt infield single.

That set up Morgan to cash in with an RBI single, tying the game at 1-1. Scheiner followed with a two-run single to give the Travs a 3-1 advantage. They would add another run on a double-play groundout.

"If you take it step-by-step, slow the game down, you realize what's going on and you don't try to do too much in the circumstances," Morgan said. "I want to keep my swing simple, focus on my defense and just stay prepared. I think that's helped us and we're all doing well right now, so it's all good."

Another positive was the performance of starting pitcher Adam Hill. He entered Wednesday with a 7.00 ERA through five starts, and the right-hander had pitched only 18 innings, averaging less than 32/3 per appearance.

Against Tulsa, Hill only completed 4 innings -- needing 90 pitches to do so -- but surrendered just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 6.

The bullpen put the Travs in danger of a 13th defeat in 18 games with Jack Anderson and Ray Kerr each allowing a pair of earned runs that gave the Drillers the lead at 5-4.

But Morgan was ready to deliver late. And the Long Beach, Calif., native was happy that his folks had made the 1,500-plus-mile journey to watch him do just that.

"It's very nice to have some familiar faces in the stands," said Morgan, waiting to go greet his parents who'd arrived in North Little Rock earlier in the day. "They came on the perfect night."

Today's game

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS VS. TULSA DRILLERS

WHEN 7:10 p.m.

WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock

RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas

WEBSITE travs.com

PITCHERS Travs: TBA; Drillers: LHP Johny Rooney (0-1, 3.55 ERA)

TICKETS $12 box (available in pods of 1, 2, 4, 6); $8 reserved (available in pods of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6); $6 general admission. Available only online at travs.com; no in-person sales.

PROMOTIONS Thirsty Thursday

THE WEEK AHEAD

Today vs. Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.

Friday vs. Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.

Saturday vs. Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday vs. Tulsa, 2:10 p.m.

Monday Off

Tuesday at NW Arkansas, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday at NW Arkansas, 7:05 p.m.

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