TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: First Place Springfield Visits the \'Vest

Published on April 27, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


After losing three of four games to the Arkansas Travelers over the weekend in North Little Rock, the Naturals returned to Springdale tonight to face the Springfield Cardinals, one of the league's hottest hitting teams. Springfield comes off a hot series against Tulsa that saw them sweep the Drillers and coming into Springdale, they are nursing a six-game win streak.

Managed again this season by Ron "Pop" Warner, the Cardinals continue to enjoy a steady pipeline of Cardinals prospects, led by last season's first-round pick, third baseman Brett Wallace, who is ranked by Baseball America as the Cards' second-best prospect. Wallace burst onto the Texas League scene last August when he double-jumped from Low Class-A Quad Cities to replace the slugger Allen Craig on the roster as Springfield kept pace with the Naturals for the second-half division crown. They didn't get that playoff spot, but Wallace hit last season and continues to hit (.290, 4 HR, 10 RBI) coming into this series.

The Springfield roster also includes OF Daryl Jones (#7), another hitter who acquitted himself well in the last month of 2008, as well as RHP Tyler Herron (#23), C/1B/OF Steven Hill (#25), and C/3B Tony Cruz (#27). One of the hottest hitters on Springfield is Hill, who had a brilliant week this past week, batting .571 (12-for-21) with four homers and nine RBIs in six games. For his effort, he was named Texas League Offensive Player of the Week, the first award for a Springfield player this season. Hill currently has a ten-game hitting streak, the longest for any Cardinal this year. Infielder Daniel Descalso also has been swinging a hot bat, and he has 17 RBI on the season, tied for third in the league as this series opens.

On the numbers, Springfield's pitching staff has a 5.54 ERA, trailing the Texas League, as the Naturals are third in that category (4.40). The Cards are hitting .299 as a team this season as opposed to .238 for the Naturals, and the Cards also have 13 homers, third in the loop. Some of the pitching staff woes are due to the Springfield staff issuing the most walks (105) in the league. Only two teams (San Antonio and Corpus Christi) have issued fewer than the Naturals 55 walks issued, although Naturals pitchers have fanned the fewest batters (86) in the Texas League. The Naturals continue to display the loop's best plate discipline, fanning just 93 times so far in 17 games.

Northwest Arkansas won the season series last year, 19-13.

Monday's pitching matchup pits right-hander Anthony Lerew against the left-hander Ryan Kulik, just promoted from Advanced Class-A Palm Beach. Tuesday, right-hander Blake Johnson twirls the rubber for the Naturals opposite right-hander Brandon Dickson. Wednesday night right-hander Blake Wood will go for the Naturals against southpaw Brad Furnish for the Cards, and the series wraps Thursday with right-hander Matt Kniginyzky going for the Naturals against right-hander Tyler Herron.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The Naturals have a toll-free ticket hotline (1-877-444-2637) for fans to purchase Naturals tickets. Our website, nwanaturals.com offers fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online and avoid lines at the ticket windows by printing their tickets at home or at the office.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from April 27, 2009


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