Vance Wilson got the opportunity he wanted Friday night, and with a chance to clinch a Texas League playoff series the Northwest Arkansas Naturals manager took it.
With the game tied in the top of the sixth and runners on the corners, Lane Adams stole home on a double steal that sent Bubba Starling to second base to score the go-ahead run as the Naturals beat the Arkansas Travelers 6-3 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Adams reached base after being hit by a pitch, then stole second, third and home as the Naturals swept in the best-of-5 Texas League North Division championship series.
"Everything's got to line up for you," said Wilson, surrounded by a group of Naturals celebrating with cans of Bud Lite and champagne. "You can get caught with your pants down, too. I just felt like it was the right moment with the right guys."
The play swung momentum in a series-deciding game that sent the Naturals to their first Texas League Championship Series since 2010. They will face Midland or Corpus Christi in the championship series that begins Tuesday at the winner of the South Division series.
Arkansas, which won the second-half title on the final day of the regular season, scored first in every game of the series but gave up every lead. Northwest Arkansas scored three runs in the final two innings of a 4-3 victory in Game 1, then scored five runs in the sixth inning of a 5-3 victory in Game 2.
The Travs twice took the lead twice Friday and tied the game once while trying to avoid elimination.
Drew Maggi was hit by a pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Travs a 1-0 lead in the first. Maggi then doubled in the third and scored on another sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. The Travs tied it 3-3 when Anthony Bemboom doubled in the fifth and scored on Sherman Johnson's sacrifice fly.
But after the double steal in the sixth, the Travs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth and managed only one hit over the final three innings.
"All three games we had a chance," said Maggi, who was 3 for 9 in the series. "It's one thing if you're not in it, but when you're a pitch or two away from victory it's pretty frustrating. It's just one little push and that changes the ballgame."
The Naturals made the final push Friday with the help of Wilson's intuition.
With the game tied at 3-3 entering the sixth, Adams was hit by Travs reliever Kyle Winkler. He stole second base, Starling drew a walk, and Adams stole third base. With two outs and runners on the corners with Frank Schwindel at bat, Wilson called for the double steal.
Bemboom threw down to second base and Sherman Johnson cut off the throw in front of the bag, but his throw home wasn't in time to get Adams as the Naturals took a 4-3 lead.
"That was Vance's call," Adams said. "He said, 'If you hear my voice, just trust me and go.' It paid off."
Arkansas Manager Bill Richardson took part of the blame, saying maybe he should have called for Bemboom to fake to second rather than throw.
"I really thought we had a play on that we might have had a play at the plate," Richardson said. "[Adams] outran our play. That's not on Boomer, that's on me."
It turned out to be the final turn in a season full of them for the Travs, who finished the regular season with the best overall record in the North Division (71-68) but needed all 140 games to clinch a playoff spot.
"We won some battles in player development and we lost some," Richardson said. "The key is the ones that we lost we've got to make up some ground. The good news is I feel 100 percent sure that the guys in their first time in this league learned a lot."
The Naturals will play for their first Texas League championship in five years after recording the worst second-half record in the North Division (29-40), but the Naturals found their momentum when they needed it.
"Our biggest thing was making sure we trust our approach and stick to it," Wilson said. "There would be no panic. My guys are prepared. We just have to trust, and when you do that your talent comes out."
Sports on 09/12/2015