SPRINGDALE -- Raul Mondesi picked a good time for his first extra-base hit with Northwest Arkansas.
Mondesi hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to lead the Naturals to an 8-7 comeback victory over the Arkansas Travels Tuesday before a crowd of 2,962 at Arvest Ballpark. Mondesi's home run to left field capped a six-run rally for Northwest Arkansas, which trailed 5-2 in the fifth inning.
NW ARKANSAS 8, ARKANSAS 7
Arkansas^200^210^200^—^7^14^1
NWArkansas^002^060^00^X—^8^13^1
Northwest Arkansas Naturals 8, Arkansas 7
Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Johnson, S, 2B^4^1^0^1^2^1^3^.201
Maggi, SS^4^1^2^2^1^0^4^.309
Towey, RF^5^0^1^1^0^2^1^.248
Hernandez, B, 3B^5^1^2^0^0^2^2^.295
Hinkle, 1B^4^2^4^0^1^0^0^.270
Myers, LF^3^0^2^2^0^0^2^.263
Davis, Ke, LF^2^0^0^0^0^1^3^.211
Gomez, Ra, DH^2^0^0^0^3^1^5^.143
1-Bond, PR-DH^0^0^0^0^0^0^0^.192
Wright, Z, C^5^1^2^1^0^0^6^.111
Mitchell, J, CF^4^1^1^0^1^3^5^.182
Totals^38^7^14^7^8^10^31^
2B: Mitchell, J (1). 3B: Myers (2). RBI: Towey (21), Myers 2 (5), Maggi 2 (9), Wright, Z (1), Johnson, S (16). 2-out RBI: Johnson, S. Team LOB: 12. SB: Maggi (6), Towey (6). CS: Maggi (4). FIELDING E: Maggi (4).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Franco, 2B^5^1^2^2^0^1^0^.344
Mondesi, SS^5^1^1^3^0^3^2^.273
Bianucci, LF^5^1^2^0^0^1^2^.314
Fuenmayor, DH^4^1^2^0^1^0^1^.366
Dozier, 3B^5^1^1^0^0^0^2^.231
Evans, C^4^0^2^1^1^2^2^.364
Liddi, 1B^4^1^2^0^0^2^4^.268
Gore, CF^1^1^0^1^2^0^0^.289
Chapman, RF^4^1^1^0^0^1^8^.204
Totals^37^8^13^7^4^10^21^
HR: Mondesi (1). RBI: Evans (3), Gore (6), Franco 2 (19), Mondesi 3 (3). 2-out RBI: Evans; Franco 2; Mondesi 3. Team LOB: 10. FIELDING E: Liddi (3). DP: 3 .
Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Suarez, A^4.1^9^5^3^2^4^0^2.91
Spomer (L, 1-1)^0.2^2^3^3^1^1^1^3.65
O’Grady^1.0^2^0^0^1^2^0^1.88
Gott^2.0^0^0^0^0^3^0^2.89
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Dziedzic, J^4.0^8^4^3^2^3^0^3.78
Pruneda (W, 1-0)^2.0^2^1^1^2^3^0^5.06
Farrell (H, 1)^0.1^3^2^2^1^1^0^54.00
Stumpf (H, 1)^0.2^0^0^0^1^1^0^2.45
Finnegan (S, 1)^2.0^1^0^0^2^2^0^2.77
Umpires: HP: Jake Wilburn. 1B: Scott Costello. 3B: Mike Cascioppo.
T: 3:09. Att: 2,962.
The win improved Northwest Arkansas (26-12) to 6-0 this season against the Travelers (21-16), who are now 4.5 games behind the league-leading Naturals in the Texas League North.
Angel Franco tied the game 5-5 with a two-run single up the middle against reliever Kurt Spomer. Mondesi, who hit eight home runs last season at Wilmington, followed with his first home run at Arvest Ballpark to put the Naturals ahead 8-5.
Wade Hinkle went 4-for-4 for Arkansas, which scored two runs in the seventh to pull to within one run.
"Raul was getting a little pull happy early, but he stayed on the ball away on the home run" Northwest Arkansas Manager Vance Wilson said of Mondesi, who played in only his fifth game for the Naturals after being slowed by a lower back strain. "I was more proud of the adjustment he made at the plate more than anything."
Tuesday's game was quite a contrast from Monday, when Northwest Arkansas beat the Travelers 3-2 in 10 innings. Arkansas outhit Northwest Arkansas 14-13 and the teams combined to use nine pitchers. Benino Prunedo (1-0) got the victory while Brandon Finnegan pitched the last two innings to earn the save.
Northwest Arkansas earned the comeback victory after starter Jonathan Dziedzic allowed four runs and eight hits in four innings. The left-hander got off to a poor start in the first inning when Arkansas scored two runs on two hits and an error. His performance was a slight improvement over his spot start at Triple A Omaha, when he allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings against Round Rock.
Short Hops:
• Arkansas leadoff hitter Sherman Johnson reached safely for the 15th consecutive road game when he reached on an error by Northwest Arkansas first baseman Alex Liddi to begin the game.
• Naturals' reliever Luke Farrell retired only one batter in the seventh inning and was replaced after he was promoted earlier from Class A Wilmington, where he was 2-0 with two saves and a 3.03 ERA. Farrell started two games for the Naturals last season when he was 2-13 overall.
Extra Bases: The Travelers' roster includes infielder Brock Bond, who played at Arkansas before he transferred to Missouri. Bond, 29, is in his ninth year in the minor leagues after being selected in the 24th round of the 2007 major league draft by the San Fransico Giants. He is hitting .192 in 10 games with the Travelers. ... Northwest Arkansas starter Jonathan Dziedzic helped himself with a fine fielding play after the first two batters reached on singles for Arkansas in the third inning. Dziedric fielded a grounder to the right of the mound and started a 6-4-3 double play. Northwest Arkansas then tied the score with two runs in the bottom of the third.
On Deck: The series will continue at 11:05 a.m. today with J.C. Sulbaran (3-3, 3.96 ERA) going for the Naturals against Tyler DeLoach (2-2, 2.32 ERA) for the Travelers.
Today's Promotion: SWEPCO School Kids Days
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.naturals.com
Sports on 05/20/2015