Springfield, MO – 2B Jacob Wilson belted a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning, helping lead the 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals to the 5-4 win against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals before the sellout crowd of 7,068 fans at Hammons Field on Friday night.
St. Louis Cardinals 1B Brandon Moss continued his Rehab Assignment at Hammons Field, drawing a walk in seven innings of work.
After Cardinals RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (W, 7-6) retired his first six batters in a row, Springfield (15-20, 56-49) swung in front in the bottom of the second. Facing RHP Jake Junis (L, 9-6), DH Paul DeJong opened the inning with a triple drilled to the right field warning track. RF Jonathan Rodriguez wasted no time bringing in DeJong, ripping an RBI single through the middle for the 1-0 lead for the Cardinals.
The Naturals (18-17, 47-58) battled right back in the top of the third. With one away, RF Logan Moon reached on an infield single. SS Jack Lopez then lined an RBI double to right field that skipped away from Rodriguez when he lost his footing, enabling Moon to race home and tie the game, 1-1.
Poncedeleon came back and retired the first two Naturals in the top of the fourth, but Northwest Arkansas struck with a two-out rally. DH Frank Schwindel initially extended the inning with a two-out double inside the left field line. LF Alfredo Escalera followed with an RBI double up against the fence in right field, bringing in Schwindel for the go-ahead run. Escalera then raced home on an RBI base hit from C Zane Evans, stretching the new Naturals lead to 3-1.
The Cardinals catapulted in front in the bottom of the fifth inning. 3B Casey Turgeon started the charge with a base hit, before moving to second one out later on a walk from SS Juan Herrera. With two on, CF Nick Martini laid down a bunt single perfectly to the third base side, loading the bases with only one away. 2B Jacob Wilson, in just his second game back from AAA-Memphis, unloaded the bases with a grand slam to left field, propelling the Cardinals into the 5-3 lead.
The Naturals chipped down the deficit right away in the top of the sixth. With one down, Schwindel powered a solo home run to left field, slicing the Naturals deficit to 5-4.
Poncedeleon, though, retired the next two batters to close the sixth, before exiting with two on and two down in the seventh. RHP Kevin Herget took over for Poncedeleon and quickly induced an inning-ending foul out from 3B Mauricio Ramos, stranding the two inherited runners and closing the seventh with the 5-4 Cardinals lead intact.
Herget then dealt a scoreless eighth, before RHP Josh Lucas (S, 12) slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth, closing the 5-4 win for Springfield.
