Cards Ride Strong Pitching to Opening Night Victory
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR – Tink Hence retired the first 14 batters he faced and combined with two Redbird relievers to allow just three hits as the Springfield Cardinals defeated the Arkansas Travelers 6-1 on Opening Night at Dickey-Stephens Park on Friday night. The win was the first for the
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR – Tink Hence retired the first 14 batters he faced and combined with two Redbird relievers to allow just three hits as the Springfield Cardinals defeated the Arkansas Travelers 6-1 on Opening Night at Dickey-Stephens Park on Friday night.
The win was the first for the Cardinals on Opening Day since 2017, snapping a five-game losing streak in the opener.
The Cardinals (1-0) opened the scoring in the top of the third inning. After stranding five runners on base through the first two innings, Springfield broke through when Jimmy Crooks grounded a one-out single up the middle to score Matt Lloyd from second base to give the Cards a 1-0 lead.
Cardinals number 11 prospect Jimmy Crooks drives in the first run of the 2024 season with a single in the third. pic.twitter.com/P990CxT0pt
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 6, 2024
Springfield papercut its way to two more runs in the top of the fifth. Against reliever Garrett Davila, Bryan Torres led off with a check-swing double down the left field line and advanced to third base on an infield single by Nathan Church. After a strikeout, Chandler Redmond dunked a bloop single to left field to score Torres making it 2-0. A single up the middle by Crooks loaded the bases, and Church scored from third base on an infield single by Jacob Buchberger giving the Redbirds a 3-0 lead.
After the Cardinals got another to take four-run lead on a sacrifice fly by Torres in the 6th, Springfield got two more in the top of the 7th inning. Mendlinger led off with a single to right and advanced to second when Chris Rotondo walked. A passed ball put runners on second and third with nobody out, and Jeremy Rivas and Torres followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies to make it 6-0.
The run support was plenty for the Cardinal pitching staff. Tink Hence was dominant in his first Opening Day start with Springfield, firing five hitless innings with three strikeouts. The right-hander did not allow a baserunner until a two-out walk to Hogan Windish in the bottom of the 5th. Nick Raquet and Andre Granillo combined to allow just one run on three hits over four innings of relief to close out the ballgame.
Welcome back, Tink Hence!
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 6, 2024
Began the night retiring 14 in a row. Final line: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 3 K pic.twitter.com/29RESt0OtX
Hence (1-0) got the win for Springfield, while Arkansas starter Logan Evans (0-1) suffered the loss allowing an unearned run on two hits over four innings.
The Cardinals will try for their second straight win to open the season in game two of their three-game set at Dickey-Stephens Park on Saturday night with first pitch at 6:05 pm.