TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Strong-Arm Travelers Again

Published on July 15, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Springdale, AR- The Naturals scored seven unanswered runs to win their fourth straight and nine of their last ten, as they beat their in-state rival the Arkansas Travelers 7-4 Tuesday night in front of a crowd 4,630 at Arvest Ballpark.

Northwest Arkansas (14-10, 47-47) came right back to tie things up after the Travs put up four runs in the top half of the fourth. Jose Duarte led off the bottom of the inning with a single. Marc Maddox got the Naturals on the board, hitting a double to right field, scoring Duarte. Mario Lisson then walked. Kila Kaaihue and Juan Richardson followed with back-to-back RBI singles to bring the Naturals within one run. Irving Falu capped off the inning grounding into a double play, scoring Kaaihue from third to tie the game at 4-4. The Naturals finally took the lead in the fifth when both Cody Clark and Marc Maddox knocked in RBI doubles. The Naturals added one more insurance run in the seventh, when Kaaihue knocked in an RBI single.

North Little Rock (7-17, 43-50), grabbed the early four run lead. Wilberto Ortiz got things started with a single and Adam Morrissey followed with a walk. After Corey Smith flied out for the first out, Brian Stavisky hit his eighth home run of the season to put the Travs up 3-0. Chris Pettit doubled and Cody Fuller singled him in the final run of the inning.

On the hill for the Naturals' was John Bale, who was making his first rehabilitation start since breaking his hand in May. Bale was limited to only one inning of work where he recorded two strike outs. Rowdy Hardy (4-8), the original scheduled starter, came in relief of Bale and picked up the victory. He tossed 5 1/3 innings, yielding four runs on seven hits, while punching out five batters and walking two. Greg Atencio picked up his second save of the season, tossing the final 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Travs' starter Anthony Ortega (8-7) suffered the defeat. He pitched six innings, giving up six runs on eight hits, striking out three and walking two batters. Ortega had allowed just nine runs to Northwest Arkansas in his five previous starts against them this season.

The Naturals will play game three of their four game series against their in-state Arkansas Travelers Wednesday afternoon at 12:05 p.m as they resume the Arkansas Diamond Series for the Car Mart Cup. Gates will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday is Summer Camp Day where summer camps can come to the ballpark and enjoy an afternoon baseball game. Fans can also play hooky from work and come enjoy $25 All-You-Can-Eat seats and $12.50 Lunch Combos. For tickets call (479) 927-4900 or visit nwanaturals.com for further details.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 15, 2008


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