The Arkansas Travelers had just finished their worst month of the season, and the first game of the final month before the Texas League playoffs wasn’t starting very well, either. Then, a seemingly harmless two-out double in the seventh inning sparked 10 unanswered runs and the Travs staged a 13-7 come-from-behind victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Wednesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. “We’ve been waiting to break out,” said Travs first baseman Joey Curletta, whose RBI single in the seventh started the onslaught. “It was just a matter of time, I think.” The Travs waited almost too long. Trailing 7-3 with two outs in the seventh, Beau Amaral doubled, Chuck Taylor was hit by a pitch and Eric Filia walked to set up Curletta’s single that scored Amaral. Dario Pizzano then walked to score Taylor, Chris Mariscal followed with a two-run single, and Joseph Odom ripped an RBI double to left-center field to give the Travs an 8-7 lead. In the eighth, Filia’s single off the right field wall scored Matt Sanders, Curletta drew a bases-loaded walk, Mariscal was hit by a pitch to score Taylor, Odom’s single scored Filia, and Donnie Walton’s walk scored Curletta. In those two innings, it was 10 runs on 6 hits aided by 5 walks and 2 hit batters to end a string of 5 losses in 6 games. The Travs, who clinched the Texas League first-half North Division title in June, were 13-17 in July, the only month… [Read full story]
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