By Cade Haak
Fort Smith, AR (June 9th, 2024) – The Texarkana Rhinos lost to the Fort Smith Marshals in seven innings with a final score of 16-4. Despite this loss, the Rhinos were still able to earn a win in the five-game series against the Marshals with three wins.
Fort Smith took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Keypher Contreras DeLeon crossed home plate on a wild pitch from the Rhinos’ starter, Ian Guanzon. The Rhinos were able to apply pressure in the top of the second inning when they bounced back with two runs of their own to take the lead in their favor. The two runs were scored by Yuto Mimura and Antonio Sabala, who had both singled into right field earlier in the inning. Matt Beuka was the Rhino who caused the damage as he ended his at-bat by squaring up a line drive into center field to earn himself two RBIs.
Regardless of the offense generated by the Rhinos, the Marshals stole back the game in the bottom of the second, and from this point on, they never faltered. In the home half of the second, the Marshals added three runs on two hits and one error, which was enough to sit them comfortably in the drivers’ seat for the rest of this afternoon’s game.
The Rhinos offense caused sparks in both the third and fifth innings. The single run in the third inning came by way of a sacrifice fly off the bat of Antonio Sabala that carried far enough into center field to allow Neil Jansen to score from third. The fourth and final run was scored for the Rhinos when Antonio Sabala lined the ball down the third baseline to earn himself his second RBI of the game.
Despite a solid outing from the Rhinos on the offensive side, it was the consistency of the Marshals bats that outmatched the Rhinos defensive efforts and ultimately led to the victory for Fort Smith in game five. Alongside Ian Guanzon, who started for the Rhinos, both Landon Richey and Nikolas Platre made appearances on the bump sporting the Rhinos gray road uniforms. Platre found the most success for the team, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing one run on one hit.
Next Up:
The Texarkana Rhinos are gearing up to follow the series win in Fort Smith with a series win on their own stomping grounds. They host the Joplin Outlaws on a three-game homestand, with game one taking place on Tuesday, June 11th, and games two and three being a double-header the following day.
