Pine Bluff native Tink Hence returned to his home state and played the role of spoiler as the Springfield Cardinals knocked off Arkansas Travelers 6-1 in the season-opener for both teams Friday night in front of an announced crowd of 6,579 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Hence struck out three and did not surrender a hit in five innings for the Cardinals. Nick Raquet and Andre Granillo each pitched two innings of relief to close out the victory.
"Tink Hence was good early on and they got some hits," Travelers first-year Manager Christian Colon said. "[Hence] was spotting up with his fastball. Whenever he wanted to, he could reach 98, 99 [mph]. He pitched well and hit his spots. He executed well."
Hence was the 63rd overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 out of Watson Chapel High School. The top pitching prospect and the No. 2 overall prospect in the Cardinals' organization by MLB Pipeline, Hence made 12 starts with Springfield last season.
Springfield opened up the scoring in the top of the third inning on an RBI single from Jimmy Crooks that scored Matt Lloyd. Chandler Redmond and Jacob Buchberger each hit RBI singles in the fifth inning to extend the Cardinals' lead to 3-0.
A sacrifice fly by Bryan Torres in the sixth inning scored Jeremy Rivas and pushed the Cardinals' advantage to 4-0. The damage in the sixth could have been worse, but Travelers relief pitcher Raul Alcantara struck out Buchberger with two outs and the bases loaded to get out of the jam.
Springfield continued to build on its lead in the top of the seventh inning. Jeremy Rivas and Torres each hit a sacrifice fly to give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead at the seventh-inning stretch.
The Travelers finally broke through in the home half of the seventh as Tyler Locklear, a top-10 prospect of the Seattle Mariners, hit an RBI single to center that scored Spencer Packard and made the score 6-1. That would prove to be the only offensive highlight of the game for the Travelers.
Arkansas finished with three hits and struck out seven times. Despite the lack of offensive production, Colon said he was not disappointed in the effort from his squad.
"I wouldn't say we struggled. I think we got some good at-bats," he said. "It was just a good pitcher [Hence] out there tonight. We'll get ready for tomorrow and move on. We just have to have the same energy. I think the guys were locked in, I think it's just a matter of getting that first game under their belt."
The two teams will be back in action tonight in the second matchup of the three-game series. With so many new pieces in place this season for the Travelers, Colon said he and the rest of the team know it's a long season and are excited it's officially underway.
"Great crowd tonight and the fans were into it the whole time," Colon said. "There are a lot of moving parts. We're all just getting ready to learn and continue to compete. We came out and had the energy, but it's just one of those things. We're not going to win them all, so we're going to get ready for [tonight]."