Naturals' Bats Silenced in Loss
SPRINGDALE, Ark. - After outscoring Arkansas and Springfield 13-0 over their previous two games, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals could not get the bats going on Friday night. Springfield Cardinals starter Zach Petrick improved to 2-0 while striking out 9 Naturals and allowing just two runs over six innings. Naturals' starter Brooks Pounders fell to 4-6 in the team's 7-2 loss and failed to make it through four innings while allowing six earned runs.
The Naturals got on the board first with a run in the second inning on an RBI double by Lane Adams to score Rey Navarro, however that would be the last lead for the road team. Cardinals first baseman Xavier Scruggs led the attack with his 23rd home run of the season on a solo shot in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game at one.
Petrick would set down the next five Naturals in order following Scruggs' game tying shot and then Springfield's bats woke up in the bottom of the fourth. Pounders would walk the first two Cardinals to bat in the fourth prior to allowing an RBI single by Scruggs. With two on Pounders struck out the next two batters and looked close to escaping the big inning, however two straight RBI singles by Adam Melker and Casey Rasmus would send Pounders to an early exit trailing 4-1.
Springfield would add two more runs in the fourth on a James Ramsey single and the Cardinals never looked back after leading 6-1. Naturals' Orlando Calixte would cut the deficit to 6-2 with an RBI single, driving in Whit Merrifield in the top of the fifth, although that was all the Naturals' offense could muster. Springfield's Mike O'Neill smacked a triple in the bottom of the sixth driving in Rasmus for one last insurance run giving the Cardinals their 7-2 lead, and victory.
The Naturals' 14 strikeouts this evening marks the third straight game in which the team has struck out in the double digits. Strikeouts have been the story of the series for the Naturals thus far as Springfield pitchers have recorded 26 strikeouts in the first two games of the four game series. Northwest Arkansas will send Jason Adam (4-10) to the hill in an attempt to get back in the win column tomorrow night. Adam allowed eight earned runs in his previous start and will try to right the ship against Tim Cooney (6-5) and the Cardinals. Cooney shutout the Naturals through 5.2 innings in his last start at Northwest Arkansas.