Mercado leads Cardinals past Naturals

NW Arkansas missed an additional scoring opportunity in the seventh, when Nicky Lopez flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Oscar Mercado hit a solo home run in the third inning, leading the Springfield Cardinals to a 5-2 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Sunday. The Cardinals swept the four-game series with the win.

The home run by Mercado gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Trailing 5-1, the Naturals cut into the deficit in the seventh inning when Alfredo Escalera hit an RBI single, driving in Samir Duenez.

NW Arkansas missed an additional scoring opportunity in the seventh, when Nicky Lopez flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Springfield right-hander Ryan Helsley (1-0) picked up a quality start and the win after allowing two runs on six hits over 62/3 innings.

Opposing starter Foster Griffin (8-4) took the loss in the Texas League game after giving up four runs and four hits over four innings.

Andrew Morales pitched 21/3 scoreless innings for his second save of the season.

Allan de San Miguel homered and singled for the Naturals.

Springfield improved to 19-9 against NW Arkansas this season.

TRAVELERS 8, DRILLERS 4

Ryan Casteel doubled three times, driving home three runs as the Arkansas Travelers beat the Tulsa Drillers 8-4 on Sunday.

Joey Wong singled three times with an RBI and a run for Arkansas.

Tulsa took a 3-2 lead in the fifth after Peter O’Brien and Jacob Scavuzzo hit RBI doubles.

After Tulsa tied the game 4-4 in the sixth, the Travelers took the lead with four runs in the sixth inning, including a double by Casteel that scored Seth Mejias-Brean.

Scott Boches (1-0) got the win in relief while Karch Kowalczyk (5-5) took the loss in the Texas League game.

The six extra-base hits for Arkansas included a season-high six doubles.

In the losing effort, Tulsa got contributions throughout its order, as five players collected at least two hits.

Shawn Zarraga doubled twice and singled for the Drillers.