Saturday's Game Suspended Due to Rain
June 4, 2017 - Texas League (TL1)
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Saturday's game suspended due to rain Jun 4th 2017, 04:41, by Bob Hards
The game between the RockHounds and Northwest Arkansas Naturals was suspended in the eighth inning on Saturday night when a severe thunderstorm rolled into Security Bank Ballpark.
The Naturals had broken a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth and the RockHounds had not completed the home half of the inning, qualifying the game as "suspended".
The game will resume Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. with the regularly scheduled game starting 30 minutes after completion of the suspended contest.
Northwest Arkansas took an early lead Saturday night, when Jack Lopez opened the game with a triple to center field and scored on a flair single to shallow left-center from Corey Toups. The Naturals increased their lead to 4-0 in the second on a bases-loaded, three-run double by Luis Villegas.
The RockHounds rallied back to tie in the third, scoring four times, with Yairo Munoz, Jermaine Curtis, Viosergy Rosa and J.P. Sportman each driving in a run.
Tyler Marincov broke the tie with a solo shot of more than 400 feet to left-center in the fifth (his eighth home run and league-leading 42nd RBI of the season).
The Naturals rallied back in the eighth on back-to-back two-strike singles from Alfredo Escalera and Humberto Arteaga. Escalera then scored the tying run on a Kyle Finnegan wild pitch.
Beau Taylor 's broken-bat single with one out in the eighth would be as far as the game would go, thanks to Mother Nature. The teams were taken off the field moments after Taylor reached first and the storm was in full force just minutes later.
Sunday's Schedule:
1:00 p.m.: Resumption of Sunday's game. Naturals 6, RockHounds 5. Taylor at first base with one out.
Regularly scheduled nine-inning game follows 30 minutes after completion of suspended game.
Sunday's Starters
The scheduled starting pitchers make an interesting match-up, as both were first round draft choices in 2014, both were draft out of high school and each is in his first season at the Double-A level at age 21.
Northwest Arkansas' lefty Foster Griffin (1-0, 1.50) was selected by Kansas City in the first round of the 2014 draft out of The First Academy in Orlando, Florida. After posting a 10-22, 5.19 mark over this first three seasons, Griffin opened the season 4-2, 2.86 at the Class-A Advanced level and earned a win over Frisco in his Double-A debut, allowing one run on five hits in six innings.
The RockHounds' Grant Holmes, before coming to the A's as part of the Josh Reddick trade last August, was the Los Angeles Dodgers' #1 draft choice in 2014 out of Conway (South Carolina) High School. The right-hander (3-5, 5.81) makes his 13th appearance (his ninth start) of the season.
Texas League Stories from June 4, 2017
- Missed Opportunities Hurt Riders in 3-1 Loss to Travs - Frisco RoughRiders
- RockHounds Take Series Finale from Naturals, 8-2 - Midland RockHounds
- Missions Avoid the Sweep with Sunday Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Drillers Finish Homestand with Walk-Off Victory - Tulsa Drillers
- Drillers Ninth-Inning Wallop Wins Series - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Naturals Win Suspended Game, Drop Finale at Midland - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Saturday's Game Suspended Due to Rain - Midland RockHounds
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