North Little Rock, AR-Luis Liberato became the hero with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Arkansas Travelers a 2-1 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Justus Sheffield worked seven innings allowing just one run setting the tone on
North Little Rock, AR-Luis Liberato became the hero with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Arkansas Travelers a 2-1 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Thursday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Justus Sheffield worked seven innings allowing just one run setting the tone on the mound for the Travs. Sam Delaplane followed him and was the winning pitcher with two perfect innings. Sheffield and Delaplane combined to retire the final 14 Cardinal batters of the night. Springfield starter Angel Rondon took no decision despite a quality start of 6.1 innings and one run allowed.
Moments That Mattered
* Jordan Cowan opened the third inning with a single and moved up on a wild pitch. Donnie Walton followed with a single to drive him in.
* Cal Raleigh walked with one out in the ninth. Aaron Knapp was summoned as a pinch-runner for Raleigh and scored easily on Liberato's double into the left field corner.
Notable Travs Performances
* CF Luis Liberato: 1-3, BB, 2B, RBI
* LHP Justus Sheffield: 7 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 9 K
* RHP Sam Delaplane: Win, 2 IP, 3 K
News and Notes
* The walk-off win was the Travs' ninth of the season and second on a hit by Liberato.
* Sheffield has thrown a quality start in eight of his nine games with Arkansas.
* Left-hand pitcher Aaron Fletcher joined the Travs roster after being acquired by the Mariners organization in a deadline day trade from the Nationals organization yesterday. He takes the roster spot of Zac Grotz who was called up to Seattle.
Up Next
Game two of the series against the Cardinals is Friday night with right-hander Ljay Newsome (0-2, 3.38) on the mound against righty Johan Oviedo (5-4, 5.27). The first 1,000 fans receive a Braden Bishop bobblehead. Gates open at 6:10 with first pitch at 7:10. The game will also be broadcast on the Sports Animal 920, the First Pitch App, TuneIn radio and milb.tv.
