Martin delivers for Naturals again against Travelers

SPRINGDALE -- Rudy Martin may have a strong case if he wanted to petition for a higher spot in Northwest Arkansas' lineup.

Naturals Manager Scott Thorman has to love the production he receives from the No. 9 batter.

Martin was clutch again Thursday night as his fifth-inning double put Northwest Arkansas ahead to stay, and the Naturals took a 2-1 series lead over Arkansas with a 4-3 victory over the Travelers at Arvest Ballpark.

"Rudy's doing a great job right where he's at," Thorman said. "He's really doing a nice job at the plate. He plays small ball; he's getting big hits for us. He also had a stolen base, so he's doing a real nice job."

Darion Blanco led off the fifth with a perfect bunt for an infield single, placing the ball in the area between the mound and first base. Martin, who had a tie-breaking home run in Wednesday's game, drilled a shot into the gap into right-center field and scored Blanco to give Northwest Arkansas (21-21) a 3-2 lead.

Martin later moved to third on a single by Kevin Merrell, his first hit since he joined the team Tuesday, and scored when Bobby Witt Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to right.

"The last few weeks, a lot of teams have been throwing me a lot of off-speed pitches," Martin said. "I know they thought that a lot of times, in that situation, I'm going to bunt and move the runner over. That's what I've been doing all year.

"I was thinking they were trying to throw a get-me-over pitch. I was ready for the fastball, but I knew if the curve ball popped out of his hand, I would be able to get him. It popped out and I was like 'I've got to drive it now.'"

That lead would stand, even when Arkansas (22-22) made its comeback move in the seventh. The Travelers put together a walk and three singles and made it a 4-3 game when Josh Morgan's hit drove in Connor Kopach, but Naturals reliever Collin Snider entered the game and caused Jake Scheiner to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Snider then pitched a solid eighth and turned things over to Carlos Sanabria, who threw the ninth and picked up his first save.

"We talked about it with some of the guys as we went through the tunnel," Travelers Manager Collin Cowgill said. "These guys play outstanding defense on the infield, and they made some outstanding throws from the outfield as well.

"I feel like every time we square a ball up, somebody is in the right spot or makes a great play or a double play. It's a real credit to their defenders. They were outstanding and kept them in the game."

Arkansas jumped out to a 2-0 lead with solo tallies in the first two innings as Brian O'Keefe had a two-out RBI double in the first, then Kopach and Dom Thompson-Williams had back-to-back doubles in the second. Northwest Arkansas responded in the third when Dennicher Carrasco and Blanco belted back-to-back doubles against Brandon Williamson (0-1), who was making his Class AA debut after joining the Travelers on Saturday.

Nick Pratto, who entered the game as the Class AA leader in home runs, added to that when he belted his 13th home run of the season into the Naturals' bullpen and tied the game in the second.

Nolan Watson (1-0), who relieved starter Austin Cox with two outs in the fifth, picked up the victory.