TL1 Arkansas Travelers

Travs Hold on in Another One-Run Thriller

Published on July 19, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release


Arkansas Travelers Catcher Anthony Bemboom
Arkansas Travelers Catcher Anthony Bemboom
(Arkansas Travelers, Credit: Mark Wagner)

Tulsa, OK - The Arkansas Travelers won a thrilling 5-4 game over the Tulsa Drillers on Saturday at ONEOK Field to split the series two game apiece.

Neither team scored a run through the first innings, but the next five frames were anything but dull.

For the fourth time in the series, Tulsa scored first, plating a run on a 1B Lars Anderson double and 3B Kyle Farmer RBI single in the fourth.

Arkansas countered with a two-run double from SS Eric Stamets in the top of the fifth to go up 2-1. To that point, Stamets produced each of the last seven Arkansas RBIs spanning three games.

The Travs extended their lead to 4-1 in the sixth on back-to-back bases loaded walks. Arkansas has now drawn a 20 walks with the bases loaded, the most of any team in Major League or Minor League Baseball. INF Sherman Johnson's eight leads all players.

Tulsa scored two off Travs starter RHP Michael Brady (W, 4-4) in the sixth to cut its deficit to 4-3 and put runners on first and third with one out when RHP Kyle Winkler was summoned from the bullpen. With SS Erisbel Arruebarrena batting, Farmer took off for second and C Anthony Bemboom threw down to second but when RF Yadir Drake broke from third, Johnson cut the ball off and threw home to gun down Drake. Arruebarrena then struck out to end the inning.

Arkansas tacked on a run in the seventh thanks to a RF Cal Towey two-out RBI single to left, but Tulsa fought right back.

LF Jeremy Rathjen homered to right off Winkler with one out in the seventh to bring the Drillers to within one run. C Ali Solis and 2B Ronald Torreyes then hit back-to-back singles to, again, put runners on the corners with one out, but Winkler induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play off the bat of CF Peter Lavin to preserve the 5-4 Travs lead.

LHP Scott Snodgress walked Anderson to begin the eighth, but RHP Danny Reynolds also induced a double play and struck out Farmer to end the threat.

LHP Greg Mahle (S, 8) earned his eighth save for Arkansas with a 1-2-3 ninth. Reynolds leads the Texas League with nine holds.

Stamets finished 2-for-5 with the double and two RBIs and went 6-for-16 with a home run, triple, double and seven RBIs in the series.

Towey went 2-for-4 with a double, run and the RBI on Saturday.

Johnson reached bases twice with two walks.

Bemboom finished 1-for-3 with a run, RBI and a walk.

Every Travs starter reached base at least once with seven of the nine reaching safely at least twice.

Anderson finished 2-for-2 with two runs, a double, an RBI and two walks, and has reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances and 12 of his last 13.

Lavin's hitting streak was snapped at 11 straight games.

All four games in the series were decided by one run and 11 of the last 15 games between the two teams were one-run games.

With the win, Arkansas moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Texas League North Second Half standings at 11-11. The Travs are 47-44 overall.

Arkansas ventures back to North Little Rock to begin a four-game series with the Springfield Cardinals before heading right back to Tulsa. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.

Check out the Arkansas Travelers Statistics

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Images from this story

Arkansas Travelers Catcher Anthony Bemboom
Arkansas Travelers Catcher Anthony Bemboom
(Mark Wagner)		   



Texas League Stories from July 19, 2015


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