For 8 1/2 innings Friday night, a Kaleb Cowart home run was enough for the Arkansas Travelers.
Kurt Spomer then blew his first save opportunity with the Travs this season when Telvin Nash hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth, and the Corpus Christi Hooks' two hits were enough for a 2-1 victory at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Cowart's sixth home run of the season led off the fifth inning and came off Hooks starter Mark Appel, the No. 1 pick of the 2012 draft. The home run gave the Travs a 1-0 lead.
The lead stood until the ninth when Spomer relieved Carmine Giardina. Spomer issued a lead-off walk to Tony Kemp, who was bunted to second by Teoscar Hernandez. Spomer walked Delino DeShields Jr., and Colin Moran reached on a force out that moved Kemp to third.
Spomer got within a strike of ending the game before Nash ripped a 1-2 pitch into left-center field for a double that scored Kemp and Moran and prevented the Travs from winning their third consecutive game.
The Hooks' late-game comeback denied a victory to left-hander Tyler DeLoach, who held the Hooks to a second inning single and walked 2 while striking out 9 over 7 innings. Giardina then pitched around a walk in the eighth, before Spomer (2-3), who had eight saves at Class AAA Salt Lake, blew his chance for his first Class AA save.
Appel, who gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in a loss to the Travs last week in North Little Rock, was sharper Friday, holding the Travs to 5 hits while striking out 2.
Sports on 08/16/2014