Travs claim first-half division title

Springdale, AR-In the decisive tiebreaking game, the Arkansas Travelers dominated the action from start to finish and captured the first half championship in the Texas League North Division with a 7-1 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Tuesday night. The win was the also the opening game of the second half of the season. Arkansas did not trail in the contest riding six runs of early offense in the first three innings and a sensational start from Johendí Jiminian to the victory. Jiminian pitched into the seventh inning and allowed just one run. He allowed just two singles through the first five shutout innings The Travs will be one of the two playoff entrants from the North Division for this year's Texas League Playoffs. They will host games one and two of the division series on Wednesday September 5 and Thursday September 6.
Moments That Mattered
* Joey Curletta got the Travs started with a 2-run opposite field homer in the first.
* Chris Mariscal ripped a two-run double with the bases loaded in the third to double the lead.
* Beau Amaral followed Mariscal's hit with a two-run single to center on an 0-2 pitch. That ended the night for NW Arkansas starter Emilio Ogando.
* With the margin at five, the Naturals loaded the bases with none out in the seventh. Bryan Bonnell got a soft lineout and a strikeout then Daniel Schlereth came on and induced a groundout to end the inning without any runs scoring.
Notable Travs Performances
* 1B Joey Curletta: 3-3, 2 runs, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI
* 2B Chris Mariscal: 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI
* RF Beau Amaral: 1-4, 2 RBI
* C Joseph Odom: 3-4, run, 2B
* Johendi Jiminian: Win, 6 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 3 K
Up Next
It's a quick turnaround for the final game of the series in Springdale with a 12:05 first pitch on Wednesday afternoon. RH Williams Pérez starts for the Travs against LH Jake Kalish for the Naturals. The game will be broadcast on the Sports Animal 920, the First Pitch App, TuneIn radio and milb.tv.