SPRINGDALE - George Springer hit his home runs when it mattered most Tuesday night.
After hitting just one home run in the pregame home run derby, the Corpus Christi outfielder hit two during the 77th annual Texas League All-Star Game, propelling the South to a 6-0 victory over the North in front of 6,265 at Arvest Ballpark.
“I just was out there having fun and trying to hit the ball hard,” Springer said of the home run derby. “I just wanted to be relaxed in the game and just go play.”
It was a good Texas League send-off for Springer, 23, who was promoted on Sunday to Class AAA Oklahoma City after batting .297 with 55 RBI this season for the Hooks. He also is tied for the league lead with 19 home runs.
“He’s the best player in the league,” said Northwest Arkansas Manager Brian Poldberg, who managed the North team. “He can run, he’s a plus fielder, a plus hitter, and he has a plus arm. He’s a fun guy to watch play.”
Springer, a 2011 first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros out of the University of Connecticut, hit a sixth-inning home run over the right-field wall to give the South its first earned run of the game and a 3-0 lead. He also hit a two-run home run in the eighth, made a running catch to prevent Northwest Arkansas’ Roman Hernandez from a hit in the fifth inning, and was named the game’s MVP.
“The first [home run] was a fastball that stayed away, and the second one was a slider and I was able to get a good swing on it,” Springer said. “It was an exciting night and a great atmosphere.”
The South took a 2-0 lead in the second inning off North starting pitcher Tyler Matzek of Tulsa. San Antonio’s Jake Blackwood led off with a double to right-center field, and two strikeouts later a North error and a single by Frisco’s Odubel Herrea gave the South two unearned runs.
The North had their best chances to score in the fifth when Northwest Arkansas’ Orlando Calixte singled with two outs and Jett Bandy of the Arkansas Travelers reached on a South error. Bandy, however, was picked off a first base to end the threat. Then in the seventh, the Travelers’ C.J. Cron led off with a double, but two strikeouts and a ground out stranded him.
Cron finished 2 for 4, including a ninth-inning single to right.
“The first couple of at bats I got in good hitters’ counts but let them slip away,” said Cron, who is batting .294 with 43 RBI for the Travelers. “The second two at-bats I got a couple of good pitches that I could drive and I got good swings on them.
“It’s always frustrating not to get any runs on the board, but it was just awesome to be here and play with the guys who usually beat you pretty badly. It’s good to be on their team for a change.”
Randal Grichuk of the Travelers was 1 for 2 with a fourth-inning single, Arkansas’ Taylor Lindsey singled in his lone at-bat, and the Naturals’ Calixte was 1 for 2 with fifth-inning single.
Arkansas’ Mike Piazza pitched two scoreless innings, while Northwest Arkansas’ Santiago Garrido and Arkansas’ Michael Cisco pitched scoreless innings for the North.
“They went out and hit the ball and had really good pitching,” said Poldberg, who is 0-3 leading the North team in three of the past four seasons.
TUESDAY’S GAME South 6, North 0
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Midland at NW Arkansas, 7 p.m.
Springfield at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m.
Tulsa at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Frisco at Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.
THURSDAY’S GAMES Midland at NW Arkansas, 7 p.m.
Tulsa at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Springfield at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m.
Frisco at Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.
Sports, Pages 19 on 06/26/2013