June 4, 2005 - The Springfield Cardinals reached the .500 mark for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night. Three Frisco errors in the bottom of the eighth inning led to a Springfield come-from-behind 8-7 win over the Frisco RoughRiders at Hammons Field in front of another sellout crowd at Hammons Field.

A crowd of 8,226 watched Juan Diaz connect for a grand slam, just the second in team history and the first at Hammons Field, as the Cards won their third straight game, giving them a record of 28-28. Diaz was the hero in the early portion of the game, while Cal Eldred stole the spotlight at the end.

Eldred, down from St. Louis on a rehab assignment, made his first appearance in a Springfield uniform, facing six men in two perfect innings. In the eighth, with the Cards trailing 7-6, Eldred (1-0) worked a 1-2-3 inning to give his team a chance to rally. The right-hander held the lead in the ninth, getting Seth Taylor to fly out to right fielder Tyler Minges to end the game.

Trailing 7-6 in the home-half of the eighth, Andy Schutzenhofer earned a one-out walk against Frisco reliever Scott Feldman. Jesse Chavez (0-1) was then called out of the bullpen to face Dan Moylan. With one out and Schutzenhofer moving on the pitch, Moylan singled to right field, sending Schutzenhofer to third base. The throw from the right fielder Juan Senreiso was well over the head of third baseman Seth Taylor, allowing Schutzenhofer to score, while Moylan took third base. With one out, Papo Bolivar pinch hit for Kevin Estrada, but struck out for the second out of the inning. Shaun Boyd then bounced one to shortstop Joaquin Arias. The ball hit in and out of the glove of Arias, allowing Boyd to reach first and Moylan to score. On the play, Arias overthrew first baseman Jason Hart, allowing Boyd to reach second base. A total of three errors were committed in the inning, giving the Cards two unearned runs to take the 8-7 lead.

Dustin Smith’s two-run blast off Stuart Pomeranz in the second inning, gave the Riders a 2-1 lead, after Cody Haerther RBI single gave the Cards a 1-0 first-inning lead.

In the fifth, Frisco starter Nick Masset began to really struggle, walking the bases loaded. With one out and the bases full, Juan Diaz crushed the first pitch he saw from Masset, blasting it over the bullpen in left-center field for his fourth homer of the year, and the first grand slam at Hammons Field in Springfield Cardinals history. Diaz’ second homer in as many nights, gave the Cards a 5-2 lead.

The Riders got the lead, scoring four times in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Drew Meyer three-run triple against Anthony Ferrari, making it 6-5. The teams exchanged lead-off homers in the seventh, as Seth Taylor homered against Jeremy Cook, making it 7-5 in the top of the seventh. Travis Hanson’s eighth homer of the year, pulled the Cards to within a run at 7-6.

Stuart Pomeranz looked good in 5.2 innings, leaving with a 5-2 lead. He allowed four runs on nine hits, striking out seven while issuing just one walk.

The Cardinals look to make it a season-best four-game winning streak on Sunday afternoon. Jeremy Cummings (0-0) takes on Frisco’s Edison Volquez (0-0) at 1:10pm. On Sunday afternoon, 2,500 fans will receive a free Cardinals inaugural season baseball thanks to Great Southern Bank. Gates open at 12:10pm. Tickets are available by calling (417) 863-2143 and online at www.springfieldcardinals.com.