SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS - The Arkansas Travelers were held to five hits and drew four walks Tuesday, but three baserunners were erased on double plays and two more were picked off in a 5-1 loss at Arvest Ballpark. The Arkansas offense has struggled lately, scoring one run or less in four of their last six games, and Rowdy Hardy picked up his first win of the season by holding the Travs scoreless for eight innings Tuesday.Hardy (W, 1-1) allowed four hits in eight innings, walking two and striking out five, and picked off two of the six baserunners he allowed. Centerfielder Coby Smith leftfielder Ivan Contreras recorded leadoff singles in the first and third innings, respectively, and both were picked off at first base by Hardy. Wil Ortiz, Smith and Mark Trumbo then grounded into double plays in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as the Travelers (7-17, 35-59) failed to put a run on the board until Jeremy Moore drove in Hainley Statia with two outs in the ninth inning.
Amalio Diaz (L, 1-6) gave up five runs in five innings on seven hits and one walk as the Texas League's hottest team, the Naturals (15-8, 51-42), won their 13th of 15 meetings with the Travelers. Kurt Mertins tripled and scored on a Jeff Bianchi single to put Northwest Arkansas up 1-0 in the first inning. The Naturals scored three more in the fourth on a two-out, 3-RBI double by Cody Strait, scoring Bianchi, Ed Lucas and Cody Clark. Mike Maddox doubled and scored on a Bianchi single in the fifth to give Northwest Arkansas a 5-0 lead.
Bianchi finished 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, while Mertins scored twice on a 2-for-4 performance. Four of the five Naturals runs came with two outs, and Northwest Arkansas batted 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Bryan Rembisz held the Naturals scoreless in the sixth despite allowing two hits, and then Barret Browning and Fernando Rodriguez each threw a perfect inning of relief. Federico Castaneda walked two and gave up a run and a hit in the only inning pitched by a Northwest Arkansas reliever, as the Naturals held on to win 5-1.
The game only lasted 2:13 in front of a crowd of 5,325. Game three of the four-game series between the cross-state rivals is Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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