Hooks too much for Naturals bats

SPRINGDALE — Rogelio Armenteros wasn’t around to officially earn the win Sunday afternoon for Corpus Christi, but he sure did his part.

Armenteros struck out a career-high 10 batters and stifled the Naturals in a 7-3 win before 5,479 in the opener of a three-game series at Arvest Ballpark.

Corpus Christi (3-1 Texas League) broke open a 2-2 game with five runs in the top of the eighth.

Consecutive doubles by Garrett Stubbs and J.D. Davis to open the inning cracked the tie.

After an out, Alejandro Garcia singled and Drew Ferguson walked to load the bases. Jack Mayfield lined a triple into the right-field corner, scoring Davis, Garcia and Ferguson for a 6-2 lead. Bryan Muniz followed with a sharp single to left to knock in Mayfield.

Eric Peterson earned the win for the Hooks in relief of Armenteros, who was brilliant in his first start of the season.

Armenteros threw just 78 pitches, including 49 for strikes, before being lifted with two outs in the sixth in- ning and leading 2-1.

“He had it all working,” Corpus Christi pitching coach Dave Borkowski said. “He was very unpredictable, used all of his pitches well and worked ahead. They were always, it seemed like, hitting behind in the count. When you can do that, it’s going to be in your favor.”

Armenteros, who allowed just one single Sunday, is in just his third year in the minors after defecting from Cuba four years ago.

“I think a lot of them seem to be a little more polished and a little more polished with their off-speed,” Borkowski said. “The Cubans like to jump the fastball a lot, so if you’re going to pitch over there, you’d better learn to throw a change up or a good breaking ball. He’s got a very, very good change up.”

Armenteros was called up to Double-A last year and was 2-0 for Corpus Christi.

“I got to see him a little bit last year,” Borkowski said. “He surprised a lot of people. He’s a smart guy who knows what he wants to do. He’s a solid worker. He has a plan every time he steps out on the mound whether it’s a bullpen or getting ready for a game. He’s polished beyond his years. He’s easy to coach. We need a lot more of those.”

Armenteros struck out 10 batters, including two each in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings.

“We had some trouble with the off-speed,” Northwest Arkansas Manager Vance Wilson said. “He kept us off-balance, but we didn’t compete very well with two strikes. We allowed him to dictate our swings. We addressed some stuff early about our twostrike approach. We didn’t quite take it to the game.”

Alejandro Garcia staked the Hooks to a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the fourth inning for the only runs off Naturals’ starter Christian Binford.

The Naturals (1-3) scratched across an unearned in the fifth and then tied the game in the sixth inning. Donnie Dewees walked with an out. After Armenteros struck

out his final batter on his 78th pitch, Samir Duenez greeted Peterson with a run-scoring double on his second pitch.

“I was proud of our guys,” Wilson said. “Binford did a good job of keeping us in the game, limiting the damage. Then they had the big inning. Unfortunately, we need ground balls, and we’re giving up doubles. We’ll address it. We’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about our guys not battling back.”

SHORT HOPS

■ Every hitter in the Naturals lineup struck out Sunday except leadoff hitter Donnie Dewees.

■ Northwest Arkansas struck out 15 times against three Hooks’ pitchers, who combined to throw 88 of their 131 pitches for strikes.

■ Sunday’s starter for the Hooks, Armenteros, defected from Cuba following his 18th birthday in 2012 while in Barcelona. Armenteros, considered a strikeout pitcher, now has 211 strikeouts in 194 career minor league innings.

On Deck: Northwest Arkansas and Corpus Christi play the middle game of a three-game series with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. The Naturals have not decided on a starter. The Hooks will start Brock Dykxhoorn, a native of Canada who pitched at Central Arizona College and is in his fourth season in the minors.

Tonight’s Promotion: Ozarks Electric Cooperative will sponsor Monday Night Lights. Ozarks Electric customers who bring their electric bill or a Co-op Connections Card to the Arvest Ballpark Box Office will receive $5 premium tickets. Tyson Foods will sponsor Dollar Hot Dogs while Indigo Sky Casino will sponsor bingo for prizes.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwa naturals.com

TRAVELERS 8, MISSIONS 2

Solid relief pitching and timely hitting contributed to the Arkansas Travelers’ second victory of the season. The Travs opened their three-game series against the San Antonio Missions with victory in front of an announced crowd of 5,157 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. Arkansas lost two of three to Corpus Christi to begin the season, but responded Sunday with 12 hits against the Missions. Brett Ash (1-0), a righthander, pitched five innings of scoreless relief of left-hander Kyle Hunter, allowing four hits with one strikeout in his first appearance of the season for the Travs. He had 51 pitches, 35 for strikes. “Brett came in and did a nice job,” Travs Manager Daren Brown said. “He was very efficient with his pitches. He pitched to contact. I didn’t expect him to come in and finish the ballgame, but with where he was at after the seventh and eighth inning, he deserved to go finish it.” Four Travelers had two hits. Tyler Marlette was 2 for 3 with an RBI double. Ryan Casteel went 2 for 4 and drove in 2 runs. Jay Baum and Joey Wong also had two hits apiece.