Arkansas Travelers Sweep State Rivals Northwest Arkansas Naturals

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Springdale, AR-  The slate of the freshly minted Arkansas Diamond Series was wiped clean as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, victims of a sweep by the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey Stephens Park in North Little Rock earlier in the month, returned the favor by edging the Travs 6-5 Monday night.  The win, which came in front of a crowd of 3,541 at Arvest Ballpark, gave the Naturals four straight victories.
 
For the third straight night, the Travelers (8-16) got on the board first, when Tim Duff hit an RBI single to center, scoring Adam Morrissey.  In the third, Corey Smith hit a two-run shot to left to put the Travs up 3-0.  Jordan Czarniecki led off the fourth with his first home run of the season and Morrissey singled in a run in the fifth to give them a 5-0 lead.  But for the third straight game, the suddenly resilient Naturals refused to give up.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Brian McFall doubled to get things started.  Travs pitcher Anthony Ortega threw back-to-back wild pitches, allowing McFall to score.  In the bottom of the fifth McFall hit an RBI sacrifice fly, scoring Richardson.  Marc Maddox then reached on a fielding error by Travelers shortstop Hainley Statia, scoring Kila Kaaihue from third.  Then in the sixth, Kaaihue came up with the bases loaded and Anthony Ortega threw his third wild pitch of the game, scoring Duarte, to bring the Naturals within one.  Mario Lisson capped things off by singling in the go-ahead run to give the Naturals (10-14) the lead for good at 6-5.
 

ADVERTISEMENT Naturals’ starter Dusty Hughes didn’t factor in the decision, pitching three innings on short rest, and allowing three runs on five hits and a walk.  Kyle Crist (1-0) picked up his first victory since the 2006 season, tossing three innings, allowing two runs on five hits, fanning two and issuing one free pass.  Jarod Plummer tossed a scoreless ninth for his second save.
 
Ortega didn’t factor in the decision either, as he pitched five innings, giving up three runs, two of which were earned, along with six hits, five walks, and two strikeouts.  Reliever Bill Edwards (0-1) gave up the three unearned runs in the sixth and was charged with the loss.
 

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