Cardinals Outlast Missions, 3-2, in 10 Innings
April 21, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release
San Antonio, TX - The Springfield Cardinals claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win in 10 innings against the San Antonio Missions before 2,853 fans at Wolff Stadium on Tuesday night. With the win, the Cardinals take the series, two-games-to-one, and wrap up the Texas road trip by winning three of their last four contests.
Cardinals RHP Mike Mayers battled San Antonio RHP Colin Rea through seven scoreless innings, with the two hurlers alternating dominant frame after dominant frame. Mayers faced the minimum through his first five innings and kept the Missions (5-7) off the board through seven total innings.
Rea no-hit Springfield (4-8) through his first 5.2 innings, but the Cardinals finally broke through with the game's first run in the top of the eighth. With one away, 3B Patrick Wisdom reached on a throwing error charged to 3B Casey McElroy. OF Anthony Garcia then entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Mayers and promptly crushed an RBI double to center field, scoring Wisdom all the way from first base for the 1-0 lead.
However, the Missions evened it right away in the bottom of the eighth. With RHP Ronnie Shaban on the mound, C Griff Erickson squared the score with a solo home run to right field. The Missions threatened later in the inning, loading the bases with two outs. LHP Justin Wright (W, 1-0), though, worked out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout, keeping the tie intact at 1-1.
Wright kept it tied through a scoreless bottom of the ninth as well, before Springfield jumped back in front against RHP Jay Jackson (L, 0-1) in the top of the 10th. SS Alex Mejia sparked the charge with a leadoff single, before taking second on a sacrifice bunt from C Alberto Rosario. Wisdom then ripped a single to center field, but CF Travis Jankowski dealt a perfect throw home to nab Mejia trying to score. With Wisdom at second, INF Breyvic Valera delivered a go-ahead RBI single to center field, bringing in Wisdom for the 2-1 lead. Valera had taken second base on the throw home, and CF Charlie Tilson provided some insurance with an RBI single through the middle of the infield, scoring Valera to pad the lead to 3-1.
RHP Kurt Heyer (S, 2) took over on the mound for the bottom of the 10th and quickly retired the inning's first out. However, the Missions refused to go down quietly. Jankowski and Turner knocked back-to-back singles, before Jankowski came racing in on an RBI single from 3B Casey McElroy. With two on and one down, Heyer won the battle against RF Hunter Renfroe, inducing a game-ending 6-4-3 double play turned by Mejia and 2B Jacob Wilson, and the Cardinals hung on for the 3-2 win in 10 innings.
Texas League Stories from April 21, 2015
- Cardinals Outlast Missions, 3-2, in 10 Innings - Springfield Cardinals
- Missions Fall in Extras to Cards in Homestand Finale - San Antonio Missions
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- Naturals Crush RoughRiders in Series Finale - Frisco RoughRiders
- Naturals Strike Early in Series Finale Win against Frisco - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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- Anderson, Hoenecke Twist Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Missions Edge Cardinals with 4-3 Walk-Off Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Prospects Fuel Naturals to Shutout Victory over Frisco - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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