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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Early Fireworks as Naturals Defeat Drillers

May 11, 2018 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa treated the crowd of 6,036 at Arvest Ballpark to an early fireworks show as the two teams combined for eight runs on 15 hits through the first two innings of the game. After the smoke cleared, the Naturals (13-20) would ultimately prevail in Game 2 as they would defeat the Drillers (18-15) by a 7-3 final on Friday night.

After trailing 3-0 after the top half of the first inning, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals stormed back with two runs in the first and then three runs in the second to take the lead. In the first, Erick Mejia delivered a RBI single to plate Donnie Dewees while Nick Dini followed with a single of his own to left field to score Mejia to cut the deficit to 3-2. Then in the second frame, Mejia delivered more fireworks with a two-run triple before scoring on a RBI single by Nicky Lopez to put the Naturals up 5-3.

Northwest Arkansas would put the game out of reach in the sixth as Dewees collected a two-run single, his third hit of the game, for the 7-3 advantage. The top of the order trio of Dewees, Mejia and Lopez went 7-for-12 with four runs and six RBIs.

Tulsa got out to a quick start on Friday and took an early 3-0 lead. Conner Joe drove in the first run with a RBI double while Luke Raley brought in another with an RBI groundout. Keibert Ruiz would then complete the scoring with a RBI single to right field.

After a shaky start to the ballgame, Naturals starter Zach Lovvorn (W, 1-2) really rebounded well and delivered a terrific start. The righty held the Drillers offense in check while his went to work as he posted zeros for the final 5.0 innings of his start. On the night, Lovvorn scattered nine hits, walked three and struck out two while giving up the three runs in the first inning.

Reliever Franco Terrero was extremely effective out of the Naturals bullpen as the hard-throw righty worked 2.0 scoreless innings while striking out four before giving way to Jake Newberry, whom fired a perfect ninth to close out the big win.

Northwest Arkansas will continue their homestand with Game 3 against the Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, tomorrow night - Saturday, May 12 - with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Gates will open to the public at 4:35 p.m. for our Mike Moustakas 'Career Highlights' Bobblehead Giveaway by Unify Financial Credit Union while Saturday night also features a Bullpen Craft Beer Bar Happy Hour from 4:35 p.m. until 5:35 p.m. The Naturals will send RHP Scott Blewett (1-3, 4.40 ERA) to the hill while the Drillers will counter with RHP Mitchell White. Catch all the live play-by-play action on AM 1590 - The Ticket 2 starting at 5:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch against Tulsa.

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.

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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.

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