NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Springfield Cardinals scored all of their runs in the final three innings on Saturday, swinging past the Arkansas Travelers, 6-1, before 6,178 fans at Dickey-Stephens Park. With their third straight win, the Cardinals take the series in Arkansas, three-games-to-one.
After Cardinals LHP Austin Gomber dealt a pair of scoreless innings to start, the Travelers (9-13, 41-51) got on the board in the bottom of the third. 2B Jeff Kobernus led off with a single, before stealing his way to second base. A walk from SS Joey Wong and an infield single by DH Ian Miller then loaded the bases with no outs. Gomber got CF Adam Law on a pop out, but 3B Seth Mejias-Brean followed with an RBI sac fly to center, deep enough for Kobernus to tag and score. Gomber, though, responded with a pop out from LF Dario Pizzano, getting out of the inning with the Travs only ahead, 1-0.
Gomber dug in throughout the rest of his six-inning outing, retiring the final 12 batters that he faced in a row. Gomber closed his start with just the one run on three hits and one walk, while striking out six and keeping the Cardinals (13-9, 48-44) close.
Travelers RHP Just DeFratus began his evening with six scoreless frames, before Springfield tied it in the top of the seventh. With two away, DH Gabriel Lino lined a single to right-center field to extend the inning. Lino then scooted down to second on a wild pitch, before 3B Jacob Wilson came through with a two-out RBI single to center field, plating Lino and tying the game, 1-1.
The Cardinals then seized their first lead of the game in the top of the eighth with three runs against RHP Blake Perry (L, 1-3). CF Oscar Mercado led off with a double off the top of the left field fence. 2B Bruce Caldwell quickly brought in Mercado with a go-ahead RBI single through the right side, lifting Springfield into the 2-1 lead. 1B John Nogowski followed with an infled single, before RF Anthony Garcia worked a walk to load the bases with no outs. Perry dug in and retired the next two Cardinals on pop outs, but Lino cashed in with a towering, two-run ground-rule double to right field, opening the Cardinals new lead to 4-1.
RHP Tyler Bray (W, 4-0) dealt his second consecutive scoreless relief inning in the bottom of the eighth, before the Cardinals added two final insurance runs in the top of the ninth. SS Darren Seferina led off with a single, quickly then stealing himself to second base. Mercado brought in Seferina with an RBI double through the left side, before racing home on an RBI single from Caldwell to stretch the advantage to 6-1.
LHP Corey Littrell took over for the bottom of the ninth and worked around a hit batter, closing the 6-1 win for the Cardinals.
