Naturals Win Close One
Last updated Sunday, May 18, 2008 6:51 PM CDT in Sports
By Jeff Reed
ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU
NORTH LITTLE ROCK - In football, going up the middle, is a conservative game plan.
In baseball, it worked out well for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Sunday afternoon in a 4-3 victory over the Arkansas Travelers in 10 innings before a crowd of 5,669 on a sunny afternoon in Dickey-Stephens Park.
Four singles, all up the middle, including one that didn't leave the infield, produced the winning run that broke the home team's deadlock on the series between the Texas League teams.
"We are not going to outslug anyone,'' Naturals manager Brian Poldberg said. "That is how we have to score. We have to put the ball in play.''
The Naturals actually drove in two runs on balls that never left the infield. The final one was a two-out shot by Ovandy Suero that was deflected by pitcher Kevin Jepsen to shortstop Hainley Statia, who was just late on his throw to first. Irving Falu scored on the play.
The Travelers had won the first 11 games, seven of them on the Travs' home field. The victory pushed the Naturals' Texas League North Division lead back to three games over the Travs (20-23).
"If you have a home field advantage, you have got to take care of it,'' Poldberg said. "They've had good crowds here. It is good to get a win.''
Reliever Dusty Hughes (4-2) relieved Rowdy Hardy and worked four scoreless innings to get the win. He had six strikeouts.
"He was good for a couple more innings if we needed him,'' Poldberg said. "He started in relief and became a started when we needed him because of injuries. He still working like a starter.''
The Travs took a 1-0 lead in the second on Nate Sutton's fielder's choice.
The Naturals (23-20) ended their scoreless inning streak in the fifth, thanks in part to nifty base running. Ed Lucas singled, stole second and reached third on Irving Falu's sacrifice bunt. He scored on Kiel Thibault's fielder's choice, beating the throw home buy sliding wide of home and touching the plate with his left hand.
In the sixth, they took the lead on Brian McFall's sacrifice fly that brought in Juan Richardson.
The Travs tied it in the home sixth on Sutton's RBI single.
Why the Naturals won
Doing the little things. Two runs scored on balls that did not leave in the infield. The team also stole three bases, had three sacrifices, all no walks and made no errors.
Why the Travelers lost
No big hits. The Travelers had 10 runners left on base and only three hits in the final four innings.
NATURALS NOTES
Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arkansas Travelers
WHEN: 7 p.m., Today WHERE: Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
ON THE HILL: NWA Blake Johnson 4-2, 3.68 vs. Travelers Bobby Mosebach 4-3, 4.29
LAST MEETING: Naturals 3, Travelers 2.
TV: None.
ON THE AIR: KURM-AM 790
Ouch
In the 11 games this season between the Arkansas teams, Travelers batters have been hit by pitches in 10 of them. Sunday afternoon, Naturals left-hander Rowdy Hardy plunked four batters, including Michael Collins twice, in his six innings.
Arguments
Naturals manager Brian Poldberg survived a discussion with first base umpire Stephen Barga on a close play at first. In the sixth, Travelers manager Bobby Magallanes was tossed by home plate umpire Brian Sinclair for arguing what he thought should have been a balk call. It was the first time this season Magallanes, rarely one to get emotional during arguments, has been tossed.
Leading off
Naturals third baseman Ed Lucas got three hits in the game, all of them leading off an inning. He led off the 10th inning with a single to center, but was caught stealing, the team's only out of the day running the bases. Lucas stole his fifth base of the season in the second.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
