Game 2 of the North Division Championship Series at Hammons Field on Thursday has been suspended due to inclement weather in the top of the 7th inning with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals leading the Springfield Cardinals, 8-7.
Although Thursday's game reached the 6th inning mark, making it an official game, Texas League rules indicate that playoff games must be completed through nine innings to determine a winner. Due to the threat of additional weather on Friday in Springfield, the teams will travel to Northwest Arkansas to complete this game before starting Game 3 as scheduled on Friday evening. Northwest Arkansas leads the best-of-five game series, 1-0, after winning Game 1 on Wednesday night.
Both sides exchanged early offense in the opening inning, with the Naturals rallying in the top of the first against RHP J.C. Sulbaran. 2B Corey Toups started the game with a leadoff home run, lifting the Naturals in front, 1-0. CF Alfredo Escalera followed with a single, before Sulbaran got 3B Mauricio Ramos on a pop out. LF Ryan O'Hearn, however, laced an RBI triple into the right field corner, prior to coming in on an RBI double by 1B Frank Schwindel to make it a 3-0 Naturals lead.
The Cardinals answered right away with three runs in the bottom of the first against RHP Glenn Sparkman. LF Vaughn Bryan led off with a walk, followed by a free pass from DH Bruce Caldwell one out later. With two on and one away, 1B Luke Voit got all the way to second on a fielding error by 1B Frank Schwindel, bringing in Bryan and moving Caldwell to third. 3B Paul DeJong then drilled a two-run single up the middle, scoring Caldwell and Voit to even the game, 3-3.
Both sides navigated out of jams in the scoreless second, but the Naturals swung right back in front in the top of the third. O'Hearn led off with a solo home run to left field. Sulbaran bounced back with a strikeout of Schwindel, but DH Samir Duenez got a hold of one for a solo shot to right field, increasing it to a 5-3 lead. RHP Corey Baker took over on the mound but lost C Cam Gallagher to a walk, followed by singles from SS Humberto Arteaga and RF Logan Moon to load the bases. Toups was then hit by a pitch, forcing in Gallagher for a three-run lead. RHP Kevin Herget took over with the bases still full and only one down. A fielder's choice to 3B Paul DeJong retired an out at home, before Herget dealt an inning-ending strikeout to get the Cardinals out of the inning only down, 6-3.
Herget tossed a scoreless fourth and fifth, before the Cardinals rallied once again in the bottom of the fifth. With one down, Voit sparked the rally with an infield single up the middle. After DeJong was hit by a pitch, 2B Jacob Wilson clobbered a three-run home run to left field, tying the game at 6-6. With LHP Tim Hill taking over on the mound, SS Alex Mejia and C Luis Cruz ripped consecutive singles, putting runners at the corners with one down for RF Allen Staton. Staton chopped into an RBI fielder's choice that retired Cruz at second but brought in Mejia for the 7-6 lead for Springfield.
The Naturals, however, had an immediate response in the top of the sixth. After a Herget strike out started the stanza, 3B Mauricio Ramos pulled a solo home run to left field, bringing the Naturals right back at 7-7. LHP Chandler Hawkins entered on the mound, but O'Hearn struck again with another solo home run, his second of the night and the Naturals fifth long-ball, lifting Northwest Arkansas back in front, 8-7.
With one on and one away in the top of the seventh, the rain intensified and was compounded by lightning, forcing the umpires to call for the tarp and send the game into a rain delay. After a delay of one hour and 16 minutes, the game was officially suspended. Game 2 will resume at Arvest Ballpark in Northwest Arkansas on Friday evening and will be followed by Game 3 of the series. All of the action on Friday will be broadcast live on Jock 98.7FM and SpringfieldCardinals.com. Visit NWANaturals.com for ticket information at Arvest Ballpark.
