Late Rally Falls Short in Rubber Match Loss at Corpus Christi
April 19, 2017 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Naturals' third baseman, Mauricio Ramos, clubbed a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to pull Northwest Arkansas within a run; but the final frame rally fell short as Corpus Christi wins the series in the rubber match bout by a 10-9 final score on Tuesday night at Whataburger Field.
Northwest Arkansas (4-8) finished the 2017 opening road trip through Texas with a 2-4 record with five of the six contests decided by two runs or fewer during the stretch.
The score teetered back-and-forth through the first five innings with the Naturals holding leads of 2-0, 4-2 and 7-5 before Corpus Christi plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth frame to maintain the lead for good.
Ramos along with second baseman, Ruben Sosa, finished with three hits in five at-bats on the night. Both players drove in two runs. Sosa gave the Naturals a 4-2 lead in the third inning with a full-count, two-out two-run double that he drove deep into left-centerfield. Ramos has now homered in back-to-back games for the Naturals.
Samir Duenez finished with his second home run in as many games and ended the three-game series against the Hooks 7-for-15 with two home runs and eight runs batted in putting his season total at a Texas League best of 14 through the first 12 games of the season.
Right-hander, Ashton Goudeau (0-2, 3.60) took the loss for Northwest Arkansas despite working 3.0 innings of two-run baseball, scatter four Corpus Christi hits in his outing.
The Naturals tallied double-digit hits in the finale against the Hooks giving the four games in the six-game trip with a double-figure hit total. Northwest Arkansas hit five home runs over the three-game series at Whataburger Field.
Wednesday, April 19 will be an off-day for the Naturals as the club travels back to Springdale, Ark. to begin an eight-game homestand at Arvest Ballpark. Northwest Arkansas opens with a four-game series against the Tulsa Drillers (Los Angeles Dodgers) on Thursday, April 21 with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Scheduled starter for the series opener is right-hander, Miguel Almonte (0-0, 1.35) who pitched four shutout inning on Friday, April 14 against San Antonio in his first start of the season.
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.
-Naturals-
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (4-8) 9, Corpus Christi Hooks (8-4) 10
April 18, 2017
123456789RHE
NW Arkansas 2 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 2 9 13 1
Corpus Christi 2 0 3 1 2 0 1 1 x 10 13 1
NW ArkansasABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Dewees Jr., CF 5 2 2 0 0 0 4 .250
Escalera, RF 4 2 1 1 1 0 2 .250
Duenez, DH 5 1 1 3 0 1 2 .320
Schwindel, 1B 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 .319
Ramos, 3B 5 2 3 2 0 1 0 .311
Sosa, R, 2B 5 0 3 2 0 1 1 .290
Gore, LF 4 0 0 0 1 2 3 .176
de San Miguel, C 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .111
Lopez, Jac, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 6 .212
a-Evans, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .135
Tenuta, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Goudeau, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hill, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Beal, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 40 9 13 9 3 6 20 .241
a-Flied out for Lopez, Jac in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Dewees Jr. (2, Smith, K); Sosa, R 2 (3, Smith, K, Thornton).
HR: Duenez (2, 4th inning off Dorris, 2 on, 0 out); Ramos (2, 9th inning off Thornton, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Schwindel 2; Duenez 4; Lopez, Jac; Sosa, R 5; Ramos 6; Dewees Jr. 3; Escalera.
RBI: Escalera (6); Schwindel (9); Sosa, R 2 (4); Duenez 3 (14); Ramos 2 (4).
2-out RBI: Sosa, R 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dewees Jr.; Lopez, Jac 2; Gore; Duenez; Evans.
SF: Schwindel.
Team RISP: 3-for-13.
Team LOB: 9.
BASERUNNING
SB: Dewees Jr. 2 (3, 2nd base off Dorris/Woodward, 3rd base off Dorris/Woodward).
FIELDING
E: Ramos (2, throw).
PB: de San Miguel (1).
DP: 2 (Lopez, Jac-Sosa, R-Schwindel; Sosa, R).
Corpus ChristiABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ferguson, CF 5 2 3 1 0 1 3 .304
Laureano, RF 4 2 1 0 1 0 2 .216
Singleton, 1B 2 2 1 0 3 0 0 .189
Davis, J, DH 5 2 2 3 0 0 3 .326
Garcia, Ale, LF 5 1 2 0 0 1 2 .286
Mayfield, 3B 4 0 1 0 1 1 4 .250
Woodward, C 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .154
Hyde, 2B 3 1 1 1 1 0 3 .231
Nunez, A, SS 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .344
Smith, K, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Dorris, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Thornton, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 35 10 13 7 6 5 20 .249
BATTING
2B: Ferguson 2 (4, Goudeau, Beal); Davis, J (3, Goudeau); Garcia, Ale (3, Hill).
HR: Davis, J (2, 3rd inning off Tenuta, 2 on, 1 out).
TB: Mayfield; Ferguson 5; Nunez, A; Woodward; Singleton; Davis, J 6; Garcia, Ale 3; Hyde; Laureano.
RBI: Davis, J 3 (8); Ferguson (7); Woodward (2); Nunez, A (5); Hyde (2).
2-out RBI: Nunez, A; Hyde.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mayfield 2; Woodward; Ferguson 2; Nunez, A.
SAC: Nunez, A.
GIDP: Davis, J.
Team RISP: 5-for-18.
Team LOB: 8.
BASERUNNING
SB: Laureano (3, 2nd base off Tenuta/de San Miguel); Mayfield (1, 2nd base off Tenuta/de San Miguel); Hyde (2, 2nd base off Hill/de San Miguel).
FIELDING
E: Nunez, A (2, throw).
NW ArkansasIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Tenuta 3.0 5 6 5 3 2 1 9.82
Goudeau (L, 0-2) 3.0 4 2 2 2 2 0 3.60
Hill 1.0 2 1 0 0 1 0 12.79
Beal 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 0 1.69
Totals 8.0 13 10 8 6 5 1 4.61
Corpus ChristiIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Smith, K 2.2 6 4 4 2 2 0 7.45
Dorris 1.1 3 3 3 1 2 1 5.63
Thornton (W, 1-1) 5.0 4 2 2 0 2 1 5.25
Totals 9.0 13 9 9 3 6 2 4.25
Tenuta pitched to 1 batter in the 4th.
Game Scores: Tenuta 20; Smith, K 30.
WP: Beal; Smith, K; Dorris.
IBB: Mayfield (by Goudeau).
HBP: de San Miguel (by Dorris).
Pitches-strikes: Tenuta 75-40; Goudeau 60-40; Hill 27-20; Beal 26-16; Smith, K 73-45; Dorris 28-17; Thornton 57-38.
Groundouts-flyouts: Tenuta 6-0; Goudeau 3-2; Hill 1-1; Beal 1-1; Smith, K 3-1; Dorris 0-0; Thornton 9-4.
Batters faced: Tenuta 17; Goudeau 14; Hill 5; Beal 6; Smith, K 16; Dorris 9; Thornton 20.
Inherited runners-scored: Goudeau 1-1; Dorris 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Tyler Olson. 1B: Sean Allen. 3B: Malachi Moore.
Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, R to L.
First pitch: 7:04 PM.
T: 3:21.
Att: 3,407.
Venue: Whataburger Field.
April 18, 2017
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