Cards pound out win over Travelers

NEWS-LEADER STAFF

 If chicks dig the long ball, they would have been ecstatic Wednesday night.

The Springfield Cardinals slugged five home runs and the Arkansas Travelers four as the Cardinals won 12-6 at Ray Winder Field in Little Rock, Ark., moving within 4 1/2 games of the Travelers in the Texas League East Division second-half standings.

Springfield got on the board in the first inning on a home run by Papo Bolivar. Designated hitter Tyler Minges doubled on the first pitch he saw and scored on Travis Hanson's first-pitch home run over the right-field wall, giving the Cardinals (17-22) a 3-0 lead.

The big blow came when Gabe Johnson took Arkansas starter Willie Collazo (1-4) deep to center field for a three-run homer in the third inning, scoring Bolivar and Hanson for a 6-0 lead.

Arkansas (22-18) struck back with three runs in the fourth inning as Greg Porter homered off Randy Leek, who despite giving up his league-leading 27th home run became just the second pitcher in the Texas League to win 11 games, improving to 11-6.

But the night belonged to Hanson, who went 3-for-4 with six RBIs on two home runs and a double. Hanson moved into the league lead with 77 RBIs and owns a team-high 18 home runs.

The teams hook up for the third part of the five-game series at 7:10 p.m. today, with right-hander Chris Lambert taking the mound for Springfield against Arkansas righty Kasey Olenberger.