By Cade Haak
Fort Smith, AR (June 8th, 2024) – The Texarkana Rhinos were able to extend their winning streak to three games after defeating the Fort Smith Marshals 4-2 in the first game of the afternoon, and then they followed up the victory with another in a similar fashion with a final score of 5-2.
The two wins on the day mark the third and fourth victories of the year for the Rhinos, and the series as a whole is their first series win of the season.
After a quiet first inning from the Rhinos bats, the Rhinos were fired up as they were able to get three strikeouts in a row to get themselves out of the home half of the first inning. Directly following the three K’s, Texarkana struck first in the top of the second. Neil Jansen opened up the new inning with a triple into deep right-center field on a pitch that Fort Smith pitcher Ethan Rivera left over the heart of the plate. Sebastian Huerta followed up this performance by extending his plate appearance and drawing a walk to put himself on base. Next, Mason Sellers hit a dribbling ground ball into open space between Rivera on the mound and third base, which was enough to score Jansen from third and force Rivera to make an off-balance throw to get the single out at first.
Texarkana used the momentum they built in these two early half innings to act as the impetus for the rest of the day. The rest of the first game saw them add three more runs to their own total while giving up two runs to a Marshals team that has been struggling to put together a series of strong plate appearances in each of the last three games. Game two of the day was more of the same for Texarkana, as the Rhinos racked up five total runs in the ball game while just allowing two runs to Fort Smith for the third consecutive game.
This series of three straight wins for Texarkana ties them in the standings with the Piney Woods TimberHogs, as both teams sit with a record of four wins and seven losses. With the Rhinos winning streak continuing to swell, they currently have the second-best active win streak in the league, only behind the Abilene Flying Bison, who sits atop the league standings and has a streak of five wins in a row.
Next Up:
The Rhinos will round out the series tomorrow in Fort Smith with a game beginning at 1:05 p.m. CST. Following this, close to their current series, they will travel back home to The Zoo to protect their home field against the 7–5 Joplin Outlaws.
