Naturals win three in a row against visiting Travelers
SPRINGDALE — The Arkansas Travelers opened their four-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals with a
13-5 win on Monday, but the hosts won the final three games of the series by a total of five runs.
Second baseman Chris Mariscal tied a career high with six RBIs in Monday’s win. It was the fifth win in six games for the Travelers (19-20).
A single, an error and an infield single loaded the bases for Mariscal in the first inning. He hit the team’s second grand slam of the season with two outs on a 1-2 pitch to open the scoring.
Arkansas blew the game open in the sixth inning with seven runs, the team’s most in one frame this season. The Travelers notched six hits and earned three walks in the inning.
Northwest Arkansas (18-21) saw two pitchers combine to throw 56 pitches in the inning. Mariscal added a two-run double to put the visitors up by nine runs.
The Travelers set a new season high for runs scored and matched their season best in hits with 16. Every batter in the Arkansas lineup had at least one hit and five registered multi-hit game.s
Arkansas starter Anthony Misiewicz
(1-2, 3.86 ERA) was the beneficiary, working
5 2/3 innings for his first win of the season. The win, coupled with Tulsa’s comeback victory over the Springfield Cardinals put the Travelers in a temporary three-way tie for first place in the North division of the Texas League.
Mariscal finished 2-for-5 with two runs in addition to the six RBIs. Center fielder Braden Bishop was 3-for-6 with two runs, catcher Joe DeCarlo hit 3-for-5 and scored a run, and left fielder Chuck Taylor added a run and an RBI on 2-for-6 hitting.
Northwest Arkansas won the second game of the series, 4-2, with a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning on Tuesday.
Arkansas never led in the game, erasing a pair of one-run deficits with single tallies in the fifth and seventh innings. The Travelers saw potential go-ahead runs thrown out at home plate in both innings.
They then failed to convert their free runner in the top of the 10th inning. The runner was stranded at third base as the score remained 2-2 going into the bottom of the extra inning.
Northwest Arkansas ran into two outs at third base in the bottom of the inning, leaving the bases empty with two outs. Nick Dini ended the game with his home run on a 1-0 pitch against reliever Matt Festa after Anderson Miller reached base on an error by Mariscal at shortstop.
Third baseman Logan Taylor connected for his first Double-A hit and RBI in the fifth inning to tie the game. Second baseman Adam Law’s third hit of the night drove in the second tying run in the seventh inning.
Law was 3-for-4, Logan Taylor was 2-for4 and DeCarlo was 2-for-4 with a double as designated hitter. Catcher Joseph Odom was
2-for-4 and scored both runs for Arkansas. Both starting pitchers, Andrew Moore of the Travelers and Foster Griffin of the Naturals, worked seven innings and allowed just two runs. Moore allowed only five hits and two walks to one strikeouts. David McKay threw two scoreless innings of relief, allowing only one hit and striking out two batters.
The Travelers dropped a rain shortened, eight-inning decision, 5-4, on Wednesday. A four-run fourth inning with four singles and a hit batsman, a passed ball and a throwing error on a bunt attempt proved too much for the visitors to overcome.
Logan Taylor gave Arkansas an early lead with an RBI double in the second inning.
Starter Chase De Jon tried to throw out the lead runner on the bunt in the fourth inning. His throw to Logan Taylor at third base was off target and Northwest Arkansas scored.
First baseman Dario Pizzano hit a twoout, two-run double in the fifth inning to cut the hosts’ lead to just one run. The Travelers left the tying run on second base in the seventh.
Logan Taylor was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Bishop hit 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Pizzano finished 2-for-4 with a run and a pair of RBIs.
De Jong (3-3, 4.43) allowed three earned runs and five total on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Matt Tenuta threw two scoreless innings of relief with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Arkansas trailed 9-3 after the fifth inning on Thursday, but the Travelers plated three runs in the seventh inning and scored again during a two-out rally in the top of the ninth inning.
The tying runs were on base when Joey Curletta took Luis Vasquez to a full count with Arkansas trailing, 9-7. Vasquez struck Curletta out to end the game.
Bishop led off the game with his third home run of the season. Northwest Arkansas responded with a four spot in the bottom of the inning. Elier Hernandez hit a two-run double and Miller connected for a two-run home run.
Right fielder Beau Amaral hit a two-run single in the third inning to cut Arkansas’ deficit in half. The Naturals added four more runs to lead, 9-3.
Arkansas starter Johendi Jiminian (2-3,
3.99), the previous week’s Texas League Pitcher of the Week, failed to get through the third inning. He was charged with eight runs, five earned, on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings. Scott Kuzminsky, Stephen Perakslis and Bryan Bonnell combined to surrender just one run in the final 5 1/3 innings.
The Travelers were down to their final strike with the bases empty before Bishop singled, Chuck Taylor walked and Amaral hit an RBI single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
Bishop was 5-for-5 to tie his career best for hits in a game. He also scored four times.
The Travelers were down to their final strike with the bases empty in the ninth before Bishop singled, Chuck Taylor walked and Amaral hit an RBI single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
Amaral matched his career high for RBIs for the third time and second time this season with four. He was 2-for-5 in the game.
Arkansas entered the series one game above .500 and three games ahead of the Naturals for third place in the North. The Naturals are the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, while the Travelers are part of the Seattle Mariners’ system.
Springfield (21-18), the Double-A affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals, now leads the North. Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate Tulsa
(20-19) is currently in second place. The teams in the South division include the San Antonio Missions (25-15), San Diego Padres; Corpus Christi Hooks (24-16), Houston Astros; Midland RockHounds (20-20), Oakland Athletics; and Frisco RoughRiders
(11-29), Texas Rangers.
Arkansas opened a four-game series at Tulsa on Friday. The Travelers will return home to Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on Tuesday for three games against Midland before three games against Frisco.