SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Northwest Arkansas Naturals fell to the Springfield Cardinals, 2-1, Wednesday afternoon in Springfield, Mo.
The Naturals got on the board first when Carlo Testa hit his fifth home run of the year, a solo shot in the seventh to give NW Arkansas a 1-0 lead.
Springfield answered quickly in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run by Nick Derba to tie it. The Cardinals scored what proved to be the game-winning run an inning later on a wild pitch by Blaine Hardy.
Naturals’ starter Justin Marks took a tough no-decision after throwing six scoreless innings, walking just two and striking out six.
The loss drops the Naturals to 12-14 overall, and just 2-10 on the road.
The series with the Cardinals continues Thursday night at 7:08 p.m. NW Arkansas sends Tim Melville (1-1, 6.89) to the hill, and Springfield counters with John Gast (3-2, 2.30).