Sports stats

TL1 Arkansas Travelers

Travs Swept For A Second Straight Night

June 13, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release


SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS - The Arkansas Travelers suffered their second consecutive doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday night running their losing streak to five games. Right hander Anthony Lerew (4-3) pitched a seven-inning complete game three-hitter in the opener leading the Naturals to a 6-0 victory. The Travs rallied from down three in the last inning of the nightcap, but left the bases loaded and lost 3-2.

The Naturals have picked up wins in five straight games and own wins in 8 of the last 9 meetings with the Travelers. The Travs' record sits at a season-worst 23-36 while the Naturals bump their record to 31-28.

GAME ONE

The Travs had only one real shot at Lerew, and it was in the first inning when they loaded the bases on singles by Wil Ortiz and Nate Sutton and a two-out walk. Mark Trumbo bounced back to the mound to end the threat. Lerew went on to retire 19 of the last 20 batters he faced in throwing the first shutout in his nine-year career.

Travs lefty Trevor Reckling (L, 3-2) struggled with wildness for the second consecutive start. After walking seven batters in his last appearance, Reckling walked five and threw two wild pitches over 5.1 innings and gave up six runs on six base hits in the loss.

After holding the Naturals to no runs or hits over three innings, Reckling was tagged with three runs in the fourth, which began with a walk to Jose Duarte. He advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored when Jordan Parraz grounded a single to center. Corey Smith cracked the first of his two doubles on the game to drive in Parraz from first base, then took third on a wild pitch. Ed Lucas's fly ball to right field was just enough to knock Smith in as he slid into the plate slightly ahead of the throw by Val Majewski.

Jeff Howell's leadoff homer against Reckling in the fifth inning put the Naturals on top 4-0 and they added two runs in the sixth inning on an RBI triple by Lucas and a bloop single by CodyStrait.

GAME TWO

Both teams used relievers to start the second game as the Travs threw righty Amalio Diaz (L, 1-4) and the Naturals used lefty Dan Cevette.

Both pitchers made it through two scoreless innings, but Diaz was touched for an unearned run in the third. CodyStrait led off with a grounder that shortstop Wil Ortiz reached behind second base. His throw bounced to first pulling Jay Caligiuri off the bag allowing the batter to reach. Strait then stole second base and took third when Cody Clark rolled a single through the left side. Josh Johnson followed with a safety squeeze along the first-base runners path and Caligiuri fielded it before missing Johnson on the tag. His throw home found catcher Flint Wipke too far in front of the plate to make a tag allowing Strait to score.

Parraz led off the fourth with a single and advanced to third on a one-out single by Brian McFall. Another sacrifice fly by Lucas gave the Naturals a 2-0 lead. Strait's leadoff homer over the right field wall against Diaz made it 3-0 Naturals.

Cevette held the Travs to two base hits over his two innings before handing over to left hander Gilbert de la Vara (W, 2-1) for three shutout innings.

Northwest Arkansas used Aaron Hartsock for a scoreless sixth inning, but the Travs finally broke through for their only runs of the doubleheader off Hartsock in the seventh inning.

Majewski began the frame with single to right field. Catcher Flint Wipke capped his 2-for-3 effort with a one-out single and Mark Trumbo delivered a pinch-hit two-run double into left-center that placed the tying run at second base. With two outs Hartsock issued a walk to Coby Smith putting the go-ahead run on base. Ortiz smacked a hard single to left field advancing Trumbo to third base and loading the bases for Nate Sutton. Sutton ran a full count before chopping to second base to end the game and his 14-game hitting streak also came to a close.

Time of the first game was 1:39 while the second game took 1:59. The paid attendance for the doubleheader was 6,192.

The Travs attempt to stave off a sweep in the five-game series in the only nine-inning game of the set on Saturday night with lefty Mike Anton (1-5, 3.67) on the mound. The Naturals counter with right Blake Johnson (3-5, 5.23 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.

Check out the Arkansas Travelers Statistics



Texas League Stories from June 13, 2009


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 Arkansas Travelers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central