Minor League Baseball

Ducks Interrupt Double-A Showdown Between Springfield, Northwest Arkansas

In the fourth inning of Saturday's showdown between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals' Double-A affiliates, two ducks on the field caused a delay.
Sam Connon|
Lots of open seats during the Springfield Cardinals home opener at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 6, 2023.
Lots of open seats during the Springfield Cardinals home opener at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 6, 2023. | Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

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St. Louis CardinalsKansas City Royals

The St. Louis Cardinals were idle Saturday afternoon, as their showdown with the New York Mets was delayed to Sunday due to rain.

Their Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals, went through a very different kind of delay.

In the bottom of the fourth inning of their game against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Cardinals trailed 4-0 with two runners on base. That's when two ducks took the field – one made its way toward the Springfield dugout, while the other went to the visiting on-deck circle.

The grounds crew at Hammons Field had to usher the ducks out of the field of play, all while the game stood still. When the ducks were finally taken care of, play resumed and the Cardinals stranded both runners.

The Naturals hit a leadoff home run in the fifth to make it 5-0, which was all the insurance they would need. The Cardinals staged a bit of a comeback, but ultimately lost 5-4.

Springfield and Northwest Arkansas are set to face off again Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET. Perhaps security will be on high-alert for potential duck interruptions this time around.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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