Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Naturals fall to Sod Poodles in series opener
TEXAS LEAGUE SOD POODLES 6, NATURALS 5 (11)
SPRINGDALE — A Northwest Arkansas rally fell short as Amarillo scored five runs in the top of the 11th inning and held off the Naturals 6-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark.
Down 6-1, Northwest Arkansas fought back in the bottom half of the 11th. Robbie Glendinning’s two-out, three-run homer slashed the deficit to 6-5. Tucker Bradley followed with a bunt single, bringing Nate Eaton to the plate as the winning run. But Eaton flew out to center, ending the game.
It was 1-1 after nine innings as the starting pitchers schooled hitters in front of a large group of area students and an announced Education Day crowd of 3,702.
Naturals starter Drew Parrish dazzled during six scoreless innings, striking out six and limiting the Sod Poodles to one hit. The lefthander threw 76 pitches (55 for strikes) and walked none, lowering his ERA to 3.32.
“I’ve seen him do that, and that’s what we came to expect of him the last couple of years,” Northwest Arkansas Manager Chris Widger said. “He started off a little bit slower this year, but that’s what we’re used to seeing from him. When he locates his fastball, everybody knows he has a really plusplus change up. So when he starts locating his fastball, gets that in their mind, his change up becomes that much better.”
Amarillo starter Drey Jameson also cruised, fanning 9 and giving up 3 hits in 6 walk-free innings.
The Sod Poodles (9-7) took a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning when former Arkansas Razorback Dominic Fletcher walked and scored. Fletcher, who belted 33 homers for Arkansas from 2017-19, went 1-for-3 and scored twice against the Naturals.
Northwest Arkansas (7-9) tied it at 1-1 and forced extra innings after Michael Massey (3-for-5) doubled with two away in the ninth. He came home on Sebastian Rivero’s scorching double down the third-base line.
“He’s really turned it up the last three or four games,” Widger said of Massey. “He’s feeling more comfortable now, and the weather’s warming up a little bit.”
John Rave went 2- for-3 as the Naturals dropped the opener of the six-game homestand.
After a scoreless 10th, Juan Centeno’s two-run single fueled Amarillo’s 11th-inning eruption.
Reliever Walter Pennington (1-1), the fourth Northwest Arkansas pitcher, took the loss, surrendering 4 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) in 1 inning.
TRAVELERS 10, WIND SURGE 4
Tanner Kirwer went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI on Tuesday, Jake Scheiner was 3 for 5, while Cade Marlowe and Jake Anchia had two hits each to lead the Arkansas Travelers past the Wichita Wind Surge in front of an announced crowd of 6,671 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
The Travelers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Jack Larsen’s first home run of the season to right field, and an RBI single from Kirwer scored Riley Unroe.
Matt Wallner’s second home run of the season in the fourth inning cut the lead to 2-1, but Arkansas took control of the game in the bottom of the inning. Kirwer hit an RBI double to score DaShawn Keirsey, then Unroe scored on a wild pitch by Wichita starter Chris Vallimont. Kirwer scored on Marlowe’s RBI triple to center field and Marlowe scored on Scheiner’s RBI single to make it 6-1.
Arkansas extended its lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the seventh on home runs from Unroe and Kirwer — the first of the season for each. Wichita got RBI doubles from Spencer Steer and Wallner in the top of the eighth to trim the lead to 8-3, but Jack Larsen’s sacrifice fly scored Scheiner and Anchia added an RBI single in the bottom of the inning ot make it 10-3. Edouard Julien’s ground out to Scheiner in the top of the ninth scored Andrew Bechtold to close out the scoring.
The Travelers had 14 hits while the Wind Surge were held to seven, led by Kiersey’s 3-for-4 effort.
Right-hander George Kirby (2-0) got the victory despite allowing Wallner’s home run — 1 of only 3 hits he allowed — with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts over 5 innings.
Vallimont (0-2) took the loss after allowing 6 earned runs on 9 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts in 31/3 innings of work.