The Northwest Arkansas Naturals got it right the second time around Monday night.
The Naturals came back from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th before letting the Arkansas Travelers tie things again in the bottom of the inning. Another run in the top of the 12th held up, however, as they defeated the Travelers 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 2,829 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Naturals designated hitter Ethan Chapman led off in the 12th with a walk before getting into scoring position on catcher Juan Graterol's single to left. Graterol, the backup catcher who came in for Parker Morin in the 10th, was thrown out trying to advance to second. Left fielder Whit Merrifield then drove in the go-ahead run with a double down the line to right field.
"They are a good team and we knew that even when we scored [in the 10th] they were going to make a run and come back," Naturals Manager Vance Wilson said. "We knew it was going to be a battle."
Naturals starting designated hitter Edison Rincon started things off in the top of the 10th with a single to center. While attempting to move Rincon over to second on a bunt, Morin fouled a ball of his hand and had to be replaced in the middle of the at-bat by Graterol, who struck out.
Merrifield sacrificed Rincon over before center fielder Lane Adams hit a single into left field to score the go-ahead run and give the Naturals a 5-4 lead.
Travelers second baseman Alex Yarbrough led off the bottom of the 11th with a double to left, getting to third on a wild-pitch to designated hitter Zach Borenstein, who walked. First baseman Brian Hernandez drove in the tying run on a sacrifice fly to left field.
"The one message I got out of it is that they don't quit," Travelers Manager Phillip Wellman said. "They got behind big and then behind by a run and they kept at it. The other disappointment is two fold: One, we spotted out starter a two-run lead and he couldn't hold it, and two, we didn't p*** a drop offensively after that first inning. You can't do that and win games. It just comes back to bite you in the butt."
Leadoff hitter Adam Melker began a four-run first for the Travelers with a single to right field. Yarbrough drew a walk before a single to left field by Borenstein loaded the bases for the Travelers with no outs.
Hernandez hit into a double play, but it was enough to score Melker from third and put the Travelers up 1-0. Naturals starter Jason Adam struggled with the strike zone all night, including a wild pitch to Kaleb Cowart that brought in Yarbrough from third base to put the Travelers up 2-0.
Cowart would walk three pitches later to continue the Travelers inning. Adam's wildness continued when he hit Jett Bandy with his first pitch after walking Cowart, setting up a two-run double to right field by Brennan Gowens.
A bit of trouble with the strike zone by Travelers' starter Mark Sappington in the fifth helped out the Naturals, who scored four runs in the inning to knot the score at 4-4.
The Naturals' rally started with a couple of walks to first baseman Jared Schlehuber and second baseman Justin Trapp wrapped around a flyout to right by Chelsor Cuthbert. Rincon brought in Schlehuber and Trapp with a double to left field to cut the Travelers' lead to 4-2.
A strange play on the third-base side of the outfield got the Naturals even closer as a bloop fly ball to shallow left by Morin took a weird hop and rolled under the gate into the stands and brought in Rincon on a ground-rule double.
After a strikeout by Merrifield, the Naturals tied things up on an RBI single to right field bringing in Morin.
Before the rally in the bottom of the 10th, the Travelers' best chance appeared to be in the bottom of the eighth when Borenstein laced a one-out double to center field to break a streak of 22 consecutive hitless batters for Arkansas. Borenstein advanced to third on a single to left by Hernandez. But a strikeout by Cowart and a sharp grounder to second by Bandy ended the rally for the Travelers.
Sports on 05/13/2014