Late Offense and Strong Pitching Vault Naturals
June 23, 2017 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
TULSA, Okla. - The Naturals stayed hot on a steamy night at ONEOK Field and beat the Tulsa Drillers 5-2 on Thursday night in the series opener of a four-game series. Northwest Arkansas improved to 9-1 in the first 10 games of the current 13-game road trip.
Northwest Arkansas (2-1/41-32) took a fourth-inning lead on a two-out single by Logan Moon to finally break through against Tulsa starter, Andrew Sopko. After the Drillers tied it in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth, 2-1, the Naturals clawed their way back.
Zach Walters plated Corey Toups from second base in the seventh inning to tie the score at 2-2 and Moon struck again in the eighth inning. Humberto Arteaga lead-off the frame by reaching on an error and broke for second on a 1-2 pitch to Moon, the Naturals right-field scalded the Karch Kowalcyzk offering down the left-field line for a go-ahead, run-scoring double to give the Naturals a 3-2 lead in the eighth.
Walters provided an insurance run in the ninth inning and Donnie Dewees brought home the fifth run of the night on a sacrifice fly later in the frame to help seal the Naturals 5-2 victory.
Left-hander, Onelki Garcia worked 6.0 innings of two-run baseball and struck out a pair in his second start for the Naturals. He did not factor in the decision after he left, trailing, 2-1.
Sam Selman (4-2, 2.88) pitched 2.0 innings of scoreless relief and struck out four before handing the ball over to Jake Newberry who pitched a perfect ninth inning for his league-leading 10th save of the season.
The victory marked the ninth time this season the Naturals have comeback in the sixth inning or later to win a game and pushed the club's record against North Division opponents to a Texas League best, 31-18 (.633).
The series continues on Friday night at ONEOK Field with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Left-hander, Emilio Ogando (4-4, 3.55) takes the hill against right-hander, Josh Sborz (2-4, 5.09) for the Drillers.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, for a 6:45 p.m. pregame show, leading up to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch on the flagship station of the Naturals, 92.1-FM, the Ticket.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on Season 10 of Naturals baseball.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
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Texas League Stories from June 23, 2017
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- Late Offense and Strong Pitching Vault Naturals - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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