Jack Gurevitch gave Springfield the quick swing it needed, then scored the odd run it had to have.
That was the shape of the Cardinals’ 6-5 win over Corpus Christi on Saturday night at Whataburger Field: early force, a middle-inning wobble, and finally enough patience to take advantage when the Hooks handed them a path home. Gurevitch’s first-inning homer put Springfield in front before Corpus Christi had batted, and his eighth-inning walk became the winning run without the Cardinals putting another ball in play.
Springfield finished with six runs on five hits, and none of those hits came after the fifth inning. The Cardinals still found a way through a game that had nearly slipped away.
Tre Richardson III opened the night with a sharp single to center against Nolan DeVos, and after two outs, Gurevitch drove a ball deep to left center. Justin Thomas Jr. retreated in center field with no real play as the ball carried out, giving Springfield a 2-0 lead on Gurevitch’s fifth home run.
It was the first marker in a night built heavily around the top of Springfield’s order. Richardson went 2-for-4 with a walk and scored three times, setting the table for nearly everything the Cardinals did.
In the third, Luis Pino walked and Richardson singled again. Rainiel Rodriguez followed with a grounder to shortstop Marcus Brown, whose diving stop kept the ball in the infield but not under control. The throw got away and rolled into the Cardinals’ dugout, allowing both Pino and Richardson to score while Rodriguez moved to second. What began as an infield hit became a two-run inning and a 4-0 Springfield lead.
Corpus Christi, which had nine hits and one error, did not stay buried. Thomas doubled to begin the fourth and scored on Will Bush’s single, trimming the Cardinals’ lead to 4-1. Springfield answered in the fifth when Richardson walked and Jesús Báez lined a two-out single to center off Joey Mancini, restoring the lead to four.
That should have been enough breathing room. It was not.
Blake Aita had worked around traffic early, including a first-inning single and walk that ended with Schiavone grounding into a double play. In the fifth, though, Corpus Christi finally turned its contact into a full comeback. Chase Call lifted a solo homer to left center. After Brandon Forrester flew out, Tyler Whitaker sent another one to left, and the Hooks’ ballpark had a reason to sound alive again.
The inning kept moving after Justin Thomas Jr. was hit by a pitch and Bush walked. Jason Schiavone then pulled a grounder fair down the third-base line and into the left-field corner. Thomas scored easily, Bush was waved around behind him, and by the time Ian Petrutz got the ball out of the corner, Springfield’s 5-1 lead was gone.
Aita’s line closed at five earned runs over five innings, with five strikeouts and three walks. The game, though, did not get away from Springfield’s bullpen.
Domenic Picone entered in the sixth after Alejandro Nuñez walked and Hector Salas singled against Aita, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Picone struck out Brown, then watched the inning take one strange turn after another: Chase Call reached on catcher interference, and Forrester’s bunt popped back to the mound became an unassisted double play when Picone caught it and Nuñez was doubled off third.
Picone had to work again in the seventh, when Thomas singled, Schiavone walked and Nuñez was hit by a pitch. This time, Rainiel Rodriguez ended the threat by picking Thomas off third. Picone earned the win, improving to 3-2, with two scoreless innings, two strikeouts and one walk.
That gave Springfield a chance to win a game it no longer seemed to have under control. Gurevitch walked to open the eighth against Hudson Leach. Deniel Ortiz flew out and Cade McGee struck out, leaving Petrutz at the plate with two outs.
The Cardinals did not need Petrutz to deliver a hit. Leach gave them the inning instead. Three wild pitches across McGee’s and Petrutz’s plate appearances moved Gurevitch station to station, the last skipping away far enough for him to come home with the go-ahead run. Petrutz struck out, but Springfield led 6-5.
From there, Joseph King and Christian Worley made the strange run stand. King allowed a leadoff single to Salas in the eighth, then struck out Brown and Call before getting Forrester on a grounder. Worley handled the ninth, striking out Whitaker, retiring Thomas on a comebacker and, after Bush was hit by a pitch, striking out Schiavone to finish his first save.
King earned his third hold with a scoreless eighth and two strikeouts. Worley matched him with a scoreless ninth and two strikeouts.
Springfield’s offense had gone quiet by then, but the Cardinals had already done enough. Gurevitch went 1-for-3 with the homer, a walk and two strikeouts. Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, and Báez went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Corpus Christi had the louder fifth inning and the bigger late threat. Springfield had the first swing, the last break and the bullpen work to make both count.