TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

All-Stars Shine on the 4th in Tulsa

Published on July 4, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


TULSA, Okla. - Right-hander, Ofreidy Gomez turned in his team-leading seventh quality start of the season and Gabriel Cancel drove in three as the Naturals celebrated the Fourth of July with a 7-2 win at ONEOK Field on Thursday night.

From the outset - the game looked to be an offensive showing from both sides. Northwest Arkansas (38-43/7-6) struck first against Drillers' starter, Parker Curry, with four hits in the first five batters of the game. Nick Heath led the game off with a sharp infield single and scored two batters later on a double by Cancel, his 19th of the season. After Meibrys Viloria recorded the first of his two hits, Emmanuel Rivera drove in Cancel to push the lead to 2-0.

Tulsa (44-39/7-7) promptly retaliated with a pair of runs against Gomez (5-6, 3.64) in the bottom half to even the score.

Then, both starters settled in. Curry (1-3, 3.79) posted a streak of 15 consecutive batters retired as he worked his longest start of the season of five and one-third innings. Gomez worked a bit harder for his success, grinding through six innings of two-run, five hit baseball.

The Naturals broke through against Curry in the sixth inning with Cancel snapping the 15-consecutive streak and scoring from first on a double by Viloria, making it a 3-2 lead. Northwest Arkansas did not relinquish the lead. Northwest Arkansas added single runs in the seventh inning with Viloria drawing a bases-loaded walk and another run in the seventh on a safety squeeze by Angelo Castellano scoring Taylor Featherston from third.

The runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the Naturals did not have a hit.

Cancel applied the final touches with a two-run shot in the ninth inning - his 14th of the season - moving him into a two-way tie for most in the Texas League. Cancel finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs pushing his season-total to 56, also tied for the top spot in the league.

Andres Sotillet kept the Naturals' lead intact with two innings of shutout relief. He fanned three hitters, allowed one hit and walked one. He extended his scoreless inning streak to 14.1 innings, the best by any Naturals' pitcher this season. Bryan Brickhouse made quick work of the Drillers in the ninth inning with a perfect inning and a strikeout.

The Naturals have won three consecutive games and snapped a three-game road losing streak. Northwest Arkansas has also won four straight July 4th contest, dating back to 2015.

The victory propels the Naturals into second place in the second half standings, trailing the front-running Arkansas Travelers by two and one-half games.

The four-game set continues tomorrow night with a 7:05 first pitch from ONEOK Field with right-hander, Jackson Kowar (0-1, 1.64 ERA) going for the Naturals in his third Double-A start against veteran knuckleballer, JD Martin (2-6, 5.26 ERA) for the Drillers.

Join the "Voice of the Naturals," Benjamin Kelly on 92.1-FM, the Ticket and the Naturals Radio Network for a 6:45 Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the first pitch.

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 4, 2019


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