Series Opens with Win over Missions
Published on August 19, 2012 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Travelers opened a three-game series against the San Antonio Missions with a 6-3 victory on Saturday at Dickey-Stephens Park. Carlos Ramirez knocked in the winning runs with a two-run single in the middle of a rally that saw five consecutive batters reach base in the sixth inning. Casey Haerther was 2-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and the base hit the started the game-winning rally. Jarrett Grube (1-2) tossed six effective innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out six to earn his first Travs win.
The win is the Travs' third in four games on their home stand placing them at 28-26 in the second half, 7.5 games behind Springfield for the TL North lead with 16 games left on the schedule.
Haerther was one of four Travelers batters with two base hits, but in the fourth inning his drive to right-center field eluded a diving Cody Decker. Haerther chugged into third base with a stand-up triple, his first since June 2010. Third baseman Brian Hernandez followed with a hard single off Missions starting pitcher Robbie Erlin to left field for a 1-0 lead.
Grube dominated the Missions early and got outs from 11 of their first 12 batters before allowing back-to-back singles with two outs in the fourth inning. He induced Jason Hagerty into a groundout to keep the 1-0 lead.
In the Missions fifth inning though, number eight hitter Jeudy Valdez hit an 0-2 pitch for a single then stole second base. With two outs, Dean Anna stroked a double to the right-field corner tying the game at 1-1.
San Antonio briefly took the lead in the sixth inning when Nate Freiman and Cody Decker ripped consecutive doubles. A one out single by Hagerty put Missions runners at the corners with one out. Grube battled Jake Blackwood to an eight-pitch 3-2 count and induced a ground ball to shortstop Darwin Perez starting a 6-4-3 double play.
Trailing 2-1 the Travs mounted an impressive rally against two pitchers starting with Haerther's single past the mound. Hernandez followed with his second single of the night with Haerther on the move. Perez drew a walk from Robert Lara (5-1) to load the bases. The Missions called on Michael Broadway, but he couldn't stop the rally as Ramirez smacked the go-ahead single to center scoring Haerther and Hernandez. Jimmy Swift then capped the rally by poking a single to right field scoring Perez for a 4-2 lead.
Roberto Lopez, who was stranded in the seventh after a leadoff triple, increased the Travs' lead to 6-2 when he collected a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning.
Ryan Chaffee and Caleb Graham dealt one scoreless inning each. Kevin Johnson allowed a home run to Edinson Rincon in the ninth inning but finished the game.
Time of game was 3:06 and the paid attendance was 6,437.
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