With one out left in their season, the Arkansas Travelers stitched together the kind of finish that required nearly everyone still standing. Sammy Siani lined the first pitch he saw into center. Connor Charping dropped the next pitch inside the right-field line. A routine grounder became the go-ahead error, and Boston Smith drove a ball over the center fielder and off the wall.
Five runs, all with two outs. A six-run deficit erased. Arkansas closed its 2026 season Sunday with a 10-7 victory over the Springfield Cardinals at Route 66 Stadium.
Smith provided the final jolt. With the Travelers ahead by one in the ninth, he drove a 2-2 pitch over Josiah Ragsdale’s head in center, bringing home Charping and Hunter Fitz-Gerald for the final margin. Smith finished 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.
The Travelers entered the ninth trailing 7-5, and their last chance appeared to be draining away after Michael Watson retired Bill Knight and struck out Anthony Donofrio around an Austin St. Laurent single and a Carter Dorighi walk.
Siani kept the season alive. His two-out liner scored St. Laurent, extended the rally and moved Dorighi to second. Charping attacked the next pitch and lifted a flare near the right-field line. It fell beyond Won-Bin Cho, allowing Dorighi to score the tying run while Siani raced to third.
Fitz-Gerald followed with a ground ball to shortstop Jesús Báez, who booted it. Siani came home with the go-ahead run. Smith made sure the mistake hurt twice more, pounding his double off the wall in dead center.
Watson took the loss and his fourth blown save after allowing two earned runs in the inning. Springfield committed four errors in the game.
Arkansas had spent most of the afternoon climbing back from a 6-0 hole. Jason Ruffcorn allowed five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, and Springfield broke through for two runs in the second before adding four in the third. Báez and Jack Gurevitch homered during that third-inning surge.
The Travelers answered with four runs in the fourth. Charping was hit by a pitch, Smith singled him home and Josh Hood sent a drive deep to left-center. A fan in a red shirt caught the ball on the berm, Hood’s 14th homer of the season and a two-run shot that cut the deficit to 6-3. Knight later scored on St. Laurent’s sacrifice fly.
Springfield pushed the lead back to three in the bottom of the inning, but Arkansas’ bullpen kept the game within reach. The Travelers’ final four pitchers combined to allow one earned run over 6 1/3 innings.
Fitz-Gerald pulled Arkansas within 7-5 in the sixth by jumping on Blake Aita’s first pitch, a changeup, and driving it the other way to left-center. It was his 29th home run.
Before the game, manager Rich Thompson had spoken about the work behind a season in which Arkansas had already secured its 70th victory.
“But, you know, I can’t thank my staff enough and the players enough that have given it every single day and have come prepared, have done their work, and it shows up in the game for them.”
— Rich Thompson, Arkansas Travelers Manager
It showed up once more in the ninth. Arkansas finished with 11 hits, matching Springfield, but the Travelers made theirs count when the season had been reduced to one final out.
Lucas Kelly handled the last two innings, striking out three and allowing only a walk. After the rally gave him the lead, Kelly retired Cho on a grounder, struck out Gurevitch, walked Cade McGee and struck out Ryan Campos to end it.
The last handshake line arrived only after the Travelers had turned their final inning into their largest one.
Thompson had described what would linger once the daily work stopped.
“You know, these guys become family.”
— Rich Thompson, Arkansas Travelers Manager
On the last afternoon of the season, that close-knit group left itself one more comeback to remember.