TEXAS LEAGUE
SPRINGFIELD 5, NW ARKANSAS 0
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals have now lost two consecutive games after winning 11 in a row, falling to the Springfield Cardinals 5-0 on Friday night at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.
Springfield starter Thomas Lee (2-2) pitched 8 2/3 innings and allowed six hits.
Alex Mejia went 3 for 4 and scored a run to lead the Cardinals offensively. Aledmys Diaz and Jonathan Rodriguez each had two hits.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on Anthony Garcia's double and Mejia's single.
Diaz doubled to lead off the bottom of the third and came home on David Washington's one-out double for a 3-0 lead.
Springfield added to its lead in the fourth on Charlie Tilson's sacrifice fly. The Cardinals made it 5-0 in the fifth when Rodriguez scored on Starlin Rodriguez' groundout.
Balbino Fuenmayor and Terrance Gore each had two hits for the Naturals. Fuenmayor extended his hitting streak to six games.
Jonathan Dziedzic (1-2) took the loss for Northwest Arkansas, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 9 hits in 5 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Travs rained out
The Arkansas Travelers' series finale against the Tulsa Drillers on Friday night at ONEOK Field in Tulsa was rained out.
The two teams managed to play into the third inning before the umpires stopped the game.
With two outs in the top of the third inning, Brian Hernandez hit a triple to right field as Tulsa right fielder Yadir Drake misread the ball and slipped on the wet grass. The umpires decided to stop the game after Hernandez' hit, which cut the Drillers' lead to 3-2.
The game was delayed for 45 minutes before it was officially postponed.
Since it was the final game of a four-game series, the game will be played as part of a doubleheader when the Travs visit Tulsa during a series June 17-20. The date and time for the makeup will be announced at a later date.
Sports on 05/09/2015