Arkansas Wins Slugfest with Midland
Published on July 4, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Travelers ended a five-game losing skid in emphatic fashion Saturday, pounding out 13 hits and eight runs in an 8-3 victory over the Midland RockHounds on Saturday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Travs' offense exploded in the fourth and fifth innings, torching RockHound starter Daniel Barone (L, 0-2) for 11 hits and all eight runs in 4.2 innings pitched.
Every Arkansas hitter recorded at least one hit in the Travs' lone win of the three-game series, led by shortstop Chris Gutierrez's 2-for-4 and game-high three RBI in his Traveler debut after being transferred from Triple-A Salt Lake City earlier this week. Mark Trumbo went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, Val Majewski picked up two hits, a run and a stolen base (4), and Branden Florence scored twice on two hits.
The Travelers (3-6, 31-48) got another solid outing from Tommy Mendoza (W, 6-4), who won his team-best sixth game after seven strong innings and 102 pitches, pitching around nine hits and allowing three runs with just one walk and two strikeouts. David Herndon pitched well in a non-save situation, holding the RockHounds to two hits in two innings of relief to seal the game.
Midland (6-3, 43-36) piled up 11 hits but batted 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men on base. Arkansas batted .500 (4-for-8) with runners on second or third.
The RockHounds did score first, Raul Padron hitting his first home run of the season to right field on the first pitch of the third inning, after Mendoza had retired the first six batters to start the game.
Arkansas answered in the bottom of the inning when Ivan Contreras led off with a single and scored later on a Wil Ortiz line single to right field. The Travs then had back-to-back big innings. Trumbo started the fourth by lining a single to left, and Florence blooped another single to shallow right. Flint Wipke bunted the runners over, and then Gutierrez knocked in Trumbo with a blooper to center for his first hit as a Traveler. Contreras hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Florence, and then leadoff man Peter Bourjos slammed a no-doubt two-run home run (3) to left field to put Arkansas up 5-1.
The RockHounds countered with two runs in the top of the fifth. Matt Sulentic singled, stole second (17) and scored on a Josh Horton ground-rule double, and Adrian Cardenas drove in Horton on one-out single to right, which would be Midland's final run, already down 5-3.
In the fifth inning, Majewski hustled for a one-out double after hitting a high fly ball down the left field line that the leftfielder missed sliding into the fence just off the foul line. Trumbo was the first Trav to 40 RBIs when he knocked in Majewski with his second single of the game. Florence grounded his second hit through the hole in the left side of the infield to leave two on for Wipke, who flew out, but Gutierrez doubled on a perfectly-placed fly ball in the left-center gap, scoring Trumbo and Florence to give Arkansas the 8-3 lead, which would be the final margin.
The Travelers only got two hits the rest of the game, thanks to RockHound relievers Mike Madsen, Jared Lansford and James Heuser, who combined for 3.1 innings of two-hit relief.
The Independence Day crowd was 8,296, for a game time of 2:42. Arkansas begins a three-game series with the Frisco RoughRiders on Sunday, with Tim Kiely (1-1, 5.66 ERA) starting against lefthander Michael Ballard (2-4, 4.86). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Texas League Stories from July 4, 2009
- Frisco Provides Fireworks Over Springfield - Frisco RoughRiders
- Cards Endure "Rough" Holiday - Springfield Cardinals
- Rogers, Jackson Roll Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Arkansas Wins Slugfest with Midland - Arkansas Travelers
- Home Cooking - San Antonio Missions
- Travs Drop Fifth Straight with 12-Inning Loss - Arkansas Travelers
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