Sports stats



TL1 Springfield Cardinals

Naturals Hang on for 5-3 Win in Northwest Arkansas

April 28, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release


Springdale, AR - The Springfield Cardinals loaded the bases and forced in one run in the top of the ninth, but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals held on for the 5-3 win before 2,416 fans at Arvest Ballpark on Monday night.

The Cardinals (5-12) charged in front in the top of the first inning against RHP Glenn Sparkman (L, 2-2). CF Charlie Tilson extended his hitting streak to seven games right away, leading off the game with a single. He promptly stole his way to second, before moving to third on a LF Nick Martini base hit. With 2B Jacob Wilson at the plate, Martini broke for second base in a stolen base attempt. He started a rundown in between first and second, distracting the Naturals (8-9) while Tilson darted home from third base, scoring the game's first run for the 1-0 lead.

The Naturals countered with one of their own in the bottom of the first against RHP Mike Mayers (L, 0-3). Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs to start the inning, before SS Dusty Coleman raced home on a double play ball hit by 1B Alex Liddi, tying the game at 1-1.

Mayers worked out of the first with no further damage, but Northwest Arkansas seized the lead with two tallies in the second. CF Bubba Starling and DH Mike Bianucci started the stanza with back-to-back doubles, putting runners at second and third. C Santiago Nessy and LF Terrance Gore then delivered consecutive RBI singles, opening a 3-1 advantage for the Naturals.

Springfield chipped the deficit in half with its second run in the top of the third. Tilson again served as the catalyst, opening the inning with a single and a steal, his fourth swipe in the last two games, to get to second. Two outs later, 1B Jonathan Rodriguez ripped a grounder to 3B Hunter Dozier, who had the ball deflect off of his fielding attempt and into shallow left field. Tilson raced home from second base on the fielding error, cutting it to just a 3-2 deficit.

However, the Naturals padded the lead once more with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Singles by Starling and Bianucci put two on, before Nessy was hit by a pitch to again load the bases with no outs. Gore then knocked a grounder to short that was fielded by SS Aledmys Diaz. Diaz tried to fire the ball home for the force out, but committed a throwing error that allowed Starling to score and everyone to be safe. Coleman came up next and skied an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, plating Bianucci to make it 5-2. A base hit then led to RHP Heath Wyatt taking over on the mound, and the right-hander navigated the Cardinals out of the bases-loaded, one out jam with no more runs coming in.

Wyatt kept the Cardinals close through his 2.2 scoreless relief innings, followed by two scoreless stanzas from LHP Iden Nazario.

Still trailing by only three runs, the Cardinals attempted the comeback in the top of the ninth inning against RHP Malcom Culver (S, 1). After a strikeout started the stanza, DH Anthony Garcia worked a walk and took second base on a single from C Michael Ohlman. Tilson then followed with a walk of his own to load the bases, but Culver won the battle against Martini with a strikeout. Wilson stepped in with three on and two away, and forced in Garcia with an RBI walk to bring the Cardinals within two runs of tying it. However, Culver induced a hard-hit grounder from Rodriguez that led to the game-ending putout at second base, and the Naturals escaped with the 5-3 win.

Check out the Springfield Cardinals Statistics



Texas League Stories from April 28, 2015


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.

Other Recent Springfield Cardinals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central