Doubleheader Sweep Comes Behind Bats, McKinney

Corpus Christi, TX—The Arkansas Travelers swept a doubleheader from the Corpus Christi Hooks on Thursday night winning the first game, 8-4, before taking the nightcap, 6-1 behind a complete game effort from Ian McKinney. The Travs never trailed in either game with Jake Scheiner leading the offense. Scheiner put up five hits between the two games including two doubles and a home run with five runs batted in. All told, the Travs offense sprung for 14 runs on 21 hits and scored in 10 different innings over the course of the twinbill. McKinney dominated the Hooks in game two striking out 11 and giving up just four hits, including two with two outs in the final inning. One of those however was a homer by Norel Gonzalez that ended a shutout bid for the lefty.

Moments That Mattered (in Game 1)

* Corpus Christi chopped a four run Travs lead down to one in the fourth inning but Darin Gillies got the final out, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base.

* Arkansas would get insurance runs over the final two innings. Their run in the sixth came as they drew three walks to load the bases and Joe Rizzo hit a sacrifice fly.

Moments That Mattered (in Game 2)

* Getting an early lead again, the Travs scored in the second inning when Connor Kopach’s two out fly ball to left field was lost at twilight and dropped for a double with Keegan McGovern racing home from first base.

* Three homers over the final three innings put the game away with Jake Scheiner (5th inning), Keegan McGovern (6th inning) and Joe Rizzo (7th inning) all going deep.

Notable Travs Performances (in Game 1)

* SS Jordan Cowan: 2-4, BB, run, 2B, RBI

* 3B Jake Scheiner: 3-4, BB, run, 2B, 3 RBI

* RHP Nick Duron: Sv, 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K

Notable Travs Performances (in Game 2)

* LF Stephen Wrenn: 2-3, BB, 2 runs

* 3B Jake Scheiner: 2-4, run, 2B, HR, 2 RBI

* 2B Joe Rizzo: 2-4, run, HR, 2 RBI

* LHP Ian McKinney: Win, CG, 7 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 11 K, HR, 98 pitches

News and Notes

* Duron became the fourth different Trav to save a game this season.

* It was McKinney’s second career complete game.

* Scheiner has eight hits, four for extra bases, through the first three games of the series.

* With Wichita’s loss at Tulsa, the Travs take over first place in the Double-A Central North Division with a half game advantage over the Wind Surge.

Up Next

The Travs hand the ball to right-hander Penn Murfee (1-0, 4.15) on Friday night against righty Joe Record (0-0, 0.00) for the Hooks. First pitch is at 7:05 and the game will be broadcast on the Sports Animal 920, the First Pitch App and milb.tv.