Springfield, MO—The Travelers hit four home runs but it was a tiebreaking double by Bill Knight in the top of the ninth inning that was the difference as Arkansas defeated Springfield, 8-7 in the series opener on Tuesday night. Knight’s double gave the Travs their fourth lead of the game and stood up as Charlie Beilenson threw a perfect bottom of the ninth to close it out. Jared Sundstrom hit a three-run homer in the game with Hunter Fitz-Gerald, Lazaro Montes and Caleb Cali also going deep. Michael Morales started and worked 5.1 innings. Teddy McGraw was the winning pitcher out of the bullpen.
Moments That Mattered
* Arkansas homered three times in the fifth inning. Fitz-Gerald and Montes went back-to-back to put the Travs on top. Sundstrom hit his three-run shot later in the inning.
* After singles by Nick Raposo and Sundstrom with one out in the top of the ninth, Knight banged one off the wall in left-center to put the Travs back in front.
Notable Travs Performances
* CF Jared Sundstrom: 2-4, BB, run, HR, 3 RBI
* LF Bill Knight: 3-5, 2B, RBI
News and Notes
* The combined nine home runs were the most in a Travs game this season.
* Arkansas left 12 runners on base, including nine in scoring position. Springfield left only two runners on.
The series continues on Wednesday night with RH Ryan Hawks (4-3, 5.05) starting for Arkansas against RH Brandt Thompson (2-2, 4.83). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on 106.7 FM Buz2, MLB.tv, the Bally Sports Live App and the Milb First Pitch App.