SPRINGDALE -- Backup catcher Zach Zaneski hit 2 two-run home runs, five Arkansas Travelers pitchers yielded 11 hits but only one walk Monday afternoon, and the Travelers beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 6-3 in the regular-season finale at Arvest Ballpark.
Zaneski, one of several Travs reserves to see action in front of an announced crowd of 3,966, hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to give Arkansas the lead for good, then set the final score with a two-run shot in the ninth.
Arkansas Manager Phillip Wellman rested some of his starters with Arkansas' best-of-5 playoff series with Tulsa beginning Wednesday.
"It's comforting when you give some guys a day off, to have other guys step in there like that," Wellman said. "It's always nice when you've got some strength on the bench."
The Naturals received a solid effort by right-hander Luke Farrell, who was making his second start. Farrell, son of Boston Red Sox Manager John Farrell, struck out 6 over 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs without issuing a walk.
"For a kid like that, with the baseball background and pedigree he has, to be able to get a taste of what it's like and what it takes to be successful against a good team, it was really big for us," Naturals Manager Vance Wilson said.
Wilson, who lives in Springdale, completed his first season as the Naturals' manager.
"It would've been nice to get the win, but the guys played hard and had good energy," Wilson said. "You typically get that on the last day of the season."
Arkansas took a 2-0 lead in the third off Farrell on RBI singles from Andrew Heid and Alex Yarbrough.
The Naturals pulled within 2-1 in the third when Angel Franco doubled and scored on a double from Orlando Calixte. Northwest Arkansas took 3-2 lead in the sixth, boosted by Edinson Rincon's two-run single, but the Travelers regained the lead in the seventh on Zaneski's first home run.
The Naturals outhit the Travelers 11-7, getting two-hit games from Justin Trapp, Ethan Chapman and Rincon. Yarbrough, who raised his RBI count to 77, also went 2 for 4 for Arkansas.
The Naturals concluded their seventh season in Springdale and finished at the bottom of the North Division at 53-87, including 28-42 the second half of the season.
The Travelers (75-65, 41-29 in the second half) have a day off today before opening the postseason on Wednesday at Tulsa.
"We just want to go about our business the way we have for the past 140 games," Wellman said of the upcoming playoffs. "We just want to play hard and see where the chips fall."
Sports on 09/02/2014