SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Northwest Arkansas won a battle of clutch hitting Friday at Springfield.
In a game in which seven of the eight runs were scored with two outs, the Naturals pulled ahead late and held on for a 5-3 victory over the Cardinals before 7,430 at Hammons Field.
Springfield (16-17) overcame a 3-0 deficit to tie the game 3-3 in the fifth inning, but Tim Smith’s double in the top of the eighth put Northwest Arkansas (21-12) back ahead, and Eric Hosmer gave the Naturals an insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth.
Hosmer and Ben Theriot had two hits each and a combined three RBI to lead the Naturals.
Northwest Arkansas took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Seratelli in the top of the second. Theriot followed Seratelli with a run-scoring infield single to make it 2-0.
Another two-out RBI single by Theriot, this one to right field, extended the Naturals’ lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth.
Springfield answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth.
Steven Hill’s 15th home run of the year, a two-run shot to right in the fourth, cut the Naturals’ lead to 3-2. Naturalsstarter Alex Caldera walked Pete Kozma with the bases loaded in the fifth to tie the score 3-3.
Smith’s eighth-inning double scored Theriot for a 4-3 lead.
Both starting pitchers allowed 3 runs, 4 hits and 3 walks. Caldera struck out seven batters in 5 1 /3 innings, and Springfield’s Trey Hearne struck out six in six innings.
Naturals relievers Rowdy Hardy and Henry Barrera pitched a combined 3 2 /3 scoreless innings. Hardy (3-1) earned the victory, and Barrera pitched the final two innings to notch his first save of the season with the Naturals.
Sports, Pages 23 on 07/31/2010