Late Offense for Cardinals Downs Naturals, 10-2
July 28, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The game stayed within reach all night for the Naturals and seemed to be for the taking. *Ryan O'Hearn* clubbed his ninth home run of the season and pulled Northwest Arkansas within a run at the stretch. But Springfield found a way to score seven runs in the eighth inning to down the Naturals, 10-2 at Hammons Field on Thursday night.
Northwest Arkansas (47-57/18-16) took an early 1-0 lead after *Terrance Gore* singled into center off Springfield starter, *Luke Weaver (5-3, 1.29)*. Gore moved to second on a wild pitch, into third on a ground-out to shortstop and scored on a passed ball by catcher, *Luis Cruz*. But the Cardinals tied the game in the second inning on a solo home run.
Naturals' starter, *Eric Skoglund (6-8, 3.51) *kept the game at 1-1, grinding out inning-by-inning situations. The left-hander stranded a runner on base in each of his 5.1 innings of work. The Cardinals cracked the 1-1 stalemate in the sixth after Skoglund allowed a one-out and consecutive base hits, giving Springfield (55-49/14-20) a 2-1 lead.
The Sarasota native worked 5.1 innings, allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits. He walked four and struck out three taking his second loss in his last five starts.
With the Cardinals leading, 3-1 after six innings, O'Hearn lead off the seventh inning with a towering, fly ball home run, slicing down the left-field line to pull the Naturals within a run at 3-2.
But Springfield scored seven runs on five hits in the eighth inning en route to the 10-2 loss for Northwest Arkansas.
O'Hearn's home run was his first in 23 games and snapped an 81-at bat stretch with out a big fly. *Corey Toups *singled to open the ninth inning and extended his road hitting streak to a league-best 13 consecutive games. *Mauricio Ramos* tabbed a single and has now hit safely in three straight games. Gore stole his Texas League-leading 33rd base on the year and his 72nd career base as a Natural.
The series continues on Friday night from Hammons Field as right-hander, *Jake Junis (9-5, 2.92) *takes another crack at becoming the second Texas League pitcher to achieve 10 wins on the season. Right-hander, *Daniel Poncedeleon (6-6, 3.45) *counters for the Cardinals.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, *Benjamin Kelly*, for a 6:50 p.m. Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show on Thursday night, leading up to the 7:10 p.m. first pitch on the flagship station of the Naturals, 92.1-FM, the Ticket from Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.
*Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the Season Nine of Naturals Baseball, tickets, groups, promotions, roster, season standings, player statistics, and updates on Naturals alumni. *
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
-Naturals- *Northwest Arkansas Naturals (47-57) 2, Springfield Cardinals (55-49) 10July 28, 2016* 123456789RHE NW Arkansas 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 1 Springfield 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 7 x 10 12 2
NW ArkansasABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG Gore, CF 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .249 Toups, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .294 Schwindel, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .262 O'Hearn, LF 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .273 Ramos, M, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .272 Evans, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .196 Garcia, C, DH 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .240 Arteaga, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .146 Moon, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .249 Skoglund, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Beal, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Stout, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 4 1 0 8 10 .250
*BATTING* *HR*: O'Hearn (9, 7th inning off Weaver, 0 on, 0 out). *TB*: Gore; O'Hearn 4; Ramos, M; Toups. *RBI*: O'Hearn (36). *Runners left in scoring position, 2 out*: Arteaga; Schwindel; Ramos, M. *Team RISP*: 0-for-8. *Team LOB*: 3.
*BASERUNNING* *SB*: Gore (33, 2nd base off Weaver/Cruz, L).
*FIELDING* *E*: Ramos, M (9, throw).
SpringfieldABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG Martini, CF 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 .206 Wilson, J, 2B 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 .333 Moss, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 Drake, RF 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 .221 Voit, LF-1B 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .279 DeJong, P, 3B 4 2 1 3 1 1 1 .238 Rodriguez, Jon, RF-LF 5 3 3 2 0 0 0 .245 Turgeon, DH 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 .500 Cruz, L, C 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 .279 Herrera, J, SS 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .165 Weaver, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lucas, J, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 36 10 12 10 6 5 17 .251
*BATTING* *HR*: Rodriguez, Jon 2 (7, 2nd inning off Skoglund, 0 on, 1 out; 8th inning off Beal, 0 on, 0 out); DeJong, P (19, 8th inning off Stout, 2 on, 2 out). *TB*: Rodriguez, Jon 9; Turgeon; DeJong, P 4; Drake 2; Herrera, J; Cruz, L 2; Wilson, J; Martini. *RBI*: Rodriguez, Jon 2 (27); Turgeon (1); Cruz, L (10); Wilson, J (1); Drake 2 (6); DeJong, P 3 (65). *2-out RBI*: DeJong, P 3. *Runners left in scoring position, 2 out*: Martini 2; DeJong, P. *Team RISP*: 4-for-8. *Team LOB*: 8.
*BASERUNNING* *SB*: Drake (2, 2nd base off Beal/Evans).
*FIELDING* *E*: Herrera, J (12, fielding); Cruz, L (2, throw). *PB*: Cruz, L (2).
NW ArkansasIPHRERBBSOHRERA Skoglund (L, 6-8) 5.1 5 3 3 4 2 1 3.51 Beal 2.0 5 5 5 2 2 1 3.75 Stout 0.2 2 2 2 0 1 1 3.46 *Totals* 8.0 12 10 10 6 5 3 3.59 SpringfieldIPHRERBBSOHRERA Weaver (W, 5-3) 8.0 3 2 1 0 8 1 1.29 Lucas, J 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.67 *Totals* 9.0 4 2 1 0 8 1 3.64
*Game Scores*: Skoglund 41; Weaver 78. *WP*: Beal; Weaver. *IBB*: Martini (by Beal). *Pitches-strikes*: Skoglund 95-53; Beal 41-25; Stout 18-11; Weaver 89-61; Lucas, J 11-8. *Groundouts-flyouts*: Skoglund 4-7; Beal 1-2; Stout 1-0; Weaver 12-4; Lucas, J 1-2. *Batters faced*: Skoglund 25; Beal 13; Stout 4; Weaver 28; Lucas, J 4. *Inherited runners-scored*: Beal 2-1; Stout 3-3. *Umpires*: HP: Sean Allen. 1B: Malachi Moore. 3B: Derek Eaton. *Weather*: 83 degrees, partly cloudy. *Wind*: 3 mph, Out to LF. *First pitch*: 7:11 PM. *T*: 2:32. *Att*: 6,419. *Venue*: Hammons Field. *July 28, 2016*
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