They both had to come to an end eventually. The Springfield Cardinals were on a four-game losing streak, while their opponent Wichita were winners of their last six. Each team ended their streaks as the Cardinals beat the Wranglers, 5-3, on Friday.
Springfield starter Rich Rundles pitched eight innings allowing three runs on five hits to get the win. He set down 12 batters in a row between the second and sixth innings. Rundles started the ninth looking for a complete-game, but was removed after giving up back-to-back singles to start the inning. Mark Worrell III took over for Rundles to get his 15th save of the year.
The Cardinals scored all their runs in the middle frames. They scored two runs in the fourth and fifth and added a single run in the sixth.
Wichita made a valiant effort to come back in the ninth but came up just a tad short. Billy Butler’s sacrifice fly and Damaso Espino’s RBI-single brought two across for the Wranglers. The come from behind attempt ended when Chris Lubanski grounded out to second.
The losing streak dropped Springfield out first place in the Texas League North. Tulsa now holds that spot three games up on the Cardinals.
