NATURALS SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER IN SPRINGFIELD
SPRINGDALE, Mo. - All together, the day and night of baseball lasted six hours and 11 minutes from the first pitch of the opening game of the doubleheader to the final out of the night cap; but Sunday yielded Northwest Arkansas a pair of wins and a series victory over
SPRINGDALE, Mo. - All together, the day and night of baseball lasted six hours and 11 minutes from the first pitch of the opening game of the doubleheader to the final out of the night cap; but Sunday yielded Northwest Arkansas a pair of wins and a series victory over the Springfield Cardinals. The Naturals took game one, 6-3 and the nightcap, 4-1 at Hammons Field securing the club's first series win in Springfield, Mo. since May, 2014.
In the opener, Northwest Arkansas used three straight two-run innings from the third to the fifth to aid left-hander,
Springfield countered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third; but the Naturals promptly got the two runs back in the ensuing top of the fourth.
Due to the delay, starter, Griffin (3-4, 4.21) had his start cut short went 4.0 innings, allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks on 67 pitched. Reliever,
Northwest Arkansas pounded out a dozen hits with Mejia leading the charge with a 3-for-4 game including his fifth double of the season. Lopez added pair of single in four at-bats while Miller and Dini each finished 2-for-4, with both driving in runs.
The bats stayed hot early in the second game of the doubleheader. Mejia led the game off with a double down the leftfield line off starter,
Starter,
Flores added a solo shot in the sixth inning to extend the Naturals lead to 4-1 while new Naturals' reliever,
With the two wins, the Naturals (21-22) now sit a game and half out of first place with 27 contests remaining in the first half. It marks the club's first series win at Hammons Field since Northwest Arkansas took three out of four from the Cardinals from April 29 to May 2 in 2014.
The Naturals and the Cardinals conclude the series at Hammons Field on Monday morning with an 11:10 a.m. first pitch. Right-hander,
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 10:50 a.m. pregame show leading up to first pitch to the 11:10 on 92.1-FM, the Ticket and the Naturals Radio Network.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
-Naturals-