TL1 Springfield Cardinals

Cardinals Pummel Naturals 11-4

Published on July 29, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release


Springfield, MO - Back at Hammons Field for the fourth game of the home stand, the first against NW Arkansas, the Springfield Cardinals looked to continue their winning streak after coming off of a three-game series sweep of the Arkansas Travelers.

Out on the mound, Springfield righty Michael Blazek battled NW Arkansas lefty Will Smith for the fourth time this season. Blazek stepped to the rubber with a 5.89 ERA as he looked for his 10th win of the campaign.

A quick start for the Naturals put them on the board with a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Christian Colon had the lone run of the inning with a solo shot to left field to put NW Arkansas on top. Wil Myers followed with a single, advancing to second on a balk and again to third on a passed ball from Audry Perez. He would be left stranded at third as Michael Blazek struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

The Cardinals would return the favor in the bottom of the second after going three-up and three-down in the first. A sacrifice bunt by Jose Garcia, after back-to-back singles from Jermaine Curtis and Zack Cox, placed runners in scoring position for Charlie Cutler with one out. Cutler delivered a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game. The second run of the inning came in on a single from Audry Perez up the middle to give the Birds the lead going into the top of the third, 2-1.

After a scoreless third inning, Natural's first baseman Nick Francis started the top of the fourth with a single to left field. He advanced on Blazek's second balk of the night with Anthony Seratelli at the plate. Seratelli followed with another single moving Francis to third with no outs. With Manny Pina at the plate, Seratelli stole second to place him in scoring position as well. Pina delivered on a 1-2 pitch to center as two rounded the diamond giving NW Arkansas the lead, 3-2 going into the bottom of the fourth.

The Birds would post a seven spot in the bottom of the fifth to give them a 9-3 lead before heading to the top of the sixth. It all started with a double from Daryl Jones to center fielder Derrick Robinson who lost the ball in the lights, found it, made a diving effort but came up short as Jones was one his way to second. Back to the top of the line-up, Jim Rapoport singled up the first base line to place runners on the corners for Ryan Jackson. Jackson, 0-for-2 on the night to that point, found his pitch as he nailed a two-run RBI triple to the right field corner to put the Cardinals back on top, 4-3. Back-to-back walks from Will Smith to Matt Adams and Curtis loaded the bases for third baseman Zack Cox. The first pitch to Cox from Smith was a two-run RBI to right to place runners at second and third and scoring two more runs making it 6-3 Springfield. Jose Garcia kept the hits coming for the Cardinals with another double as two more runs crossed home to put the Birds up by five.

That would end the night for NW Arkansas' Will Smith as Mario Santiago stepped to the mound out of the bullpen to finish the fifth for the Naturals. After a quick two outs from Santiago the man who started the inning, Daryl Jones, stepped back up to the plate and continued to find his swing with a single back up the middle to bring the seventh run of the inning around before a fly out to right for out number three ended the fifth with the Cardinals up 9-3

Michael Blazek would retire after six and two thirds innings as Nick Greenwood came in to the ball game to hold the Naturals to three runs. Blazek finished the night allowing three runs on six hits, three walks and seven strike-outs.

Greenwood held the Naturals to three runs until the eighth when back-to-back doubles from Seratelli and Manny Pina gave the Naturals their fourth run of the game. He would finish the eighth allowing just one run with the Birds still on top, 9-4.

Back to the top of the line-up, Rappoport led the eighth with a walk. He would make his way around the bases on a two-run homer from Ryan Jackson to give Springfield an 11-4 lead going into the top of the ninth.

David Kopp finished the game for the Cardinals with a scoreless inning facing three batters to give Springfield their fourth win in a row.

Springfield will continue their four-game series with the NW Arkansas Naturals Saturday night at 6:07pm. The Cardinals will send right hander Shelby Miller to the mound against righty Jeremy Jeffress of the Naturals.

Saturday will continue the themed jerseys as the players and coaches will be wearing 1936 Throwback Cardinals Jerseys that will be available for fans to bid on throughout the game on the concourse. After the game, the winning bidders will go down on the field to receive their autographed jerseys from the players and coaches. All proceeds from the auction will go to benefit the United Way. Also on Saturday, our friends at Hiland Dairy will be giving away Louie Pillow Mascots to 2,500 fans coming through the gates. Great tickets are still available by visiting the Hammons Field Ticket Office, online at springfieldcardinals.com or by calling (417) 863-2143.

Check out the Springfield Cardinals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Texas League Stories from July 29, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central