TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Earn First Home Series Win of Season

Published on May 13, 2018 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (15-20) brought the lumber on Sunday as they cranked out 17 hits and homered three times in an 11-8 win over the Tulsa Drillers (18-17). The victory at Arvest Ballpark sealed the first home series win of the season as the Naturals took three out of four to open the homestand and improves to 7-3 in their last 10 games.

Northwest Arkansas wasted no time in the finale as they stormed out to a big lead after four innings of play. Nicky Lopez, whom came into the game hitting .455 over his last 10 games with 20 hits, laced a RBI double into the right field corner to begin the scoring. Elier Hernandez followed with a run-scoring single to center field and the Naturals offense was off and running.

The Naturals would extend their lead to 4-0 in the second inning as Anderson Miller launched a long solo home run to right and Luis Villegas was brought home on a RBI groundout by Jecksson Flores after recording his sixth career triple. The advantage would balloon to 6-0 after the third as Erick Mejia hit a solo home run to left and Brandon Downes chipped in with a RBI single.

Tulsa would score their first run of the game in the fourth on a two-out single by Angelo Mora to make it 6-1 game.

Northwest Arkansas would do their best to put the game out of reach in the home half of the fourth. Flores collected his second RBI of the game with a run-scoring single then Mejia homered for the second time, this one a three-run shot, for a 10-1 lead.

The visitors would not go away as Tulsa scored four in the fifth to make it 10-6. First baseman Peter O'Brien delivered the big blow that frame with a three-run homer of his own to chase Naturals' starter Emilio Ogando from the contest. The Naturals though would have an answer of their own as Flores picked up his third RBI with a two-out single for a five run cushion.

The Drillers would add a run in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings but it would be too little too late as the Naturals would hold on for the win. RHP Walker Sheller (W, 1-0) earned the win in relief while LHP Devin Smeltzer (L, 0-3) took the loss for Tulsa.

The Northwest Arkansas offense pounded 17 hits on the afternoon with six guys collecting multi-hit games. Mejia, a member of the Drillers in 2017, led the way by going 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, two runs scored and four runs batted in.

Northwest Arkansas will continue their homestand with the series opener against the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, tomorrow night - Monday, May 14 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Gates will open to the public at 6:00 p.m. for Monday Night Lights presented by Ozarks Electric featuring $1 Hot Dogs by Tyson Foods, Inc. and Indigo Sky Casino Baseball Bingo. Catch all the live play-by-play action on KQSM ?" 92.1 The Ticket starting at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch against the Double-A St. Louis Cardinals at Arvest Ballpark.

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 the 2018 season 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.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from May 13, 2018


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