TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Adams, Binford Lead Naturals to 4-2 Win

Published on July 17, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A familiar version of a Naturals team showed up to play the Springfield Cardinals on Friday night at Hammons Field and it looked like the First Half Texas League North Division champions that played. Led by the timely hitting of Lane Adams and the strong staring performance from Christian Binford, Northwest Arkansas beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Friday night.

Binford (3-4, 4.82) turned in arguably his best performance of the season. The 6-foot-6 right-hander mowed down the first eight hitters he faced and racked up five strikeouts in the process before giving a bloop single to Derek Gibson in the third inning, only to see the Cardinals' designated hitter attempt to stretch his single into a double. Jorge Bonifacio threw him out at second base for his third outfield assist on the season.

Binford gave up his long run in the fourth inning which allowed Springfield (41-50/11-10) to take a 1-0 advantage. Patrick Wisdom began the frame with a triple and scored on Bruce Caldwell's base hit. But his offense would have his back.

After Northwest Arkansas (46-44/6-11) stranded five runners on base in the first four innings, Adams came to the plate with runners at second and third with two outs and full count on him and roped a double down the left field line to put the Naturals ahead, 2-1 in the fifth. Zane Evans trickled an infield single towards Wisdom and third who threw the ball away allow Adams to score from second base to extend the advantage in the inning to 3-1.

Binford worked through 6.0-plus innings of work and left in the seventh with the lead, but runners at the corners with no outs. Benino Pruneda entered and got David Washington to line out back to him and Pruneda promptly threw to first to double off the runner for the two outs in the innings. The 5-foot-9 reliever forced a fly out for the final out of the frame to leave the inning unscathed with the Naturals holding on to a 3-1 advantage.

Binford went 6.0-plus innings, struck out six and scatter six hits in the win.

Adams came up against with a runner at second and two outs in the eighth inning and clubbed his second double of the night - seventh on the season - to score Hunter Dozier who walked and stole second to make it a 4-1 lead.

The Red Oak, Okla. native finished 4-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles in his first four-hit night of the season.

Right-hander Kyle Zimmer worked the final two frames to earn his second save of the season allowing a run on two hits with strikeout in his outing.

The win snapped a five-game road losing streak and give the Naturals a chance to split the series in Springfield in the finale set for tomorrow night.

Left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic (4-6, 3.83) takes the hill against right-hander Mike Mayers (1-3, 5.97) for the Cardinals. .

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, at 5:55 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 6:10 p.m. first pitch on the Naturals flagship station, 92.1 - FM, the Ticket.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @nwanaturals throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime for all of our up-to-date information on tickets, groups, promotions, and team-related information.

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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Texas League Stories from July 17, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central