NATURALS SCORE FOUR IN 9TH TO WIN SERIES IN SPRINGFIELD
SPRINGFIELD, MO – After being up 5-0 halfway through the game, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals entered the ninth inning tied at five with the Springfield Cardinals but scored four runs in the top half to take a 9-5 lead, shutting the Cardinals down in the bottom half to win the
SPRINGFIELD, MO – After being up 5-0 halfway through the game, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals entered the ninth inning tied at five with the Springfield Cardinals but scored four runs in the top half to take a 9-5 lead, shutting the Cardinals down in the bottom half to win the game by four runs, taking the series four games to two.
Starting pitcher Anthony Veneziano delivered his best start of the year, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three.
Veneziano was given a lead to work with early, as right fielder Nate Eaton led off the second with a solo home run to left field, his third long ball of the year. The Naturals then added further run support for the southpaw, tagging Springfield for four runs in the fifth inning.
Catcher Logan Porter led off the top of the fifth with a solo home run to left field, his second of the year and the runs cascaded from there. Jake Means doubled, then scored on a Nick Loftin groundout. Tucker Bradley walked after Means’ double, then scored on a Robbie Glendinning sacrifice fly and John Rave singled home Maikel Garcia to put the Naturals up 5-0.
The Northwest Arkansas bullpen struggled to preserve the lead, as the Cardinals rallied back between the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to score five runs off Patrick Smith, Stephen Woods Jr. and Walter Pennington.
After an eighth inning home run for Springfield tied the score at five, the Naturals entered the ninth needing a rally and got exactly that. Garcia singled to lead off the inning and Loftin advanced him to second on a sacrifice.
After Michael Massey was intentionally walked to set up the double play, Glendinning singled Garcia home with a ground ball single through the left side. John Rave reached on a throwing error that scored Massey, then Eaton brought Glendinning home on a sac fly to push the lead to three runs. Porter added his team-leading third hit of the day to score rave, pushing the Natural lead to four runs.
Yefri Del Rosario came on for the bottom of the ninth, allowing a two-out walk but procuring a popout to end the game and secure a series win for the Naturals.
Northwest Arkansas returns home for a six-game homestand with the Wichita Wind Surge, starting at 11:05am Tuesday for Education Day at Arvest Ballpark.