TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Early Runs Sink Naturals as Hooks Claim Series

Published on July 25, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Corpus Christi (49-53/16-17) used a barrage of early runs to sink Northwest Arkansas (43-57/12-20) as the Hooks claimed the 3-game series with a 9-2 victory over the Naturals in the middle game of the 3-game set. The Naturals will look to avoid the sweep by salvaging the series finale when the two teams meet for the final time in 2019 on Friday night.

Corpus Christi jumped all over Northwest Arkansas in the early going of the game as the Hooks scored five runs in the first, two in the third, and another in the fourth to open up a commanding lead. Bryan De La Cruz started the game with a single and later scored on a RBI groundout by Granden Goetzman for the 1-0 lead. After taking a 2-0 lead on a defensive miscue by the Naturals, Stephen Wrenn launched a two-out, three-run home run over the wall in left field to give the visitors a 5-0 advantage.

The Hooks used a sacrifice fly by J.J. Matijevic and a solo home run by Lorenzo Quintana to extend their lead to 7-0 after three.

Northwest Arkansas would respond with two runs in the home half of the third. The Naturals would load the bases after Nick Heath doubled, Kevin Merrell reached via hit by pitch, and Gabriel Cancel singled. With two outs and the bases still loaded, Heath scored on a wild pitch by right-hander Bryan Abreu and then Emmanuel Rivera brought home Merrell with a RBI knock.

Another defensive miscue cost Northwest Arkansas in the fourth as Corpus Christi used an unearned run to make it a 8-2 game.

J.C. Cloney was a bright spot for the Naturals as he was solid in relief. The left-hander came into the game in the fourth and gave up six hits over the final 5.1 innings of the game surrendering just a run in the top of the ninth on a RBI single by Quintana.

Right-hander Conner Greene (L, 3-9) took the loss for Northwest Arkansas. The Naturals starter gave up eight runs, only two earned, on six hits through 3.2 innings of work. His counterpart, Abreu (W, 5-2), earned the win with 5.0 innings of two run baseball before Christian Javier (S, 2) earned his second save with 4.0 innings of scoreless ball while striking out nine.

For the second consecutive game, the Northwest Arkansas offense struggled against the arms of Corpus Christi. The Naturals collected five hits from five different players but struck out 15 times, which makes it 31 strikeouts through the first two games.

The top of the order had three hits with Heath and Merrell scoring both the runs while Rivera had the lone RBI.

Northwest Arkansas will continue their 7-game homestand tomorrow night - Friday, July 26th - with the series finale against the Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A Houston Astros). First pitch at Arvest Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Night #1 of Christmas in July featuring a Fireworks Friday with a Naturals T-Shirt Giveaway courtesy of all® detergent and an Ugly Christmas Sweater Gameworn Jersey Auction presented by Natural State Pest Control where ALL of the proceeds of the auction will go to the NWA Food Bank. The Naturals will give the baseball to right-hander Ofreidy Gomez (7-7, 3.93 ERA) and he'll square off against left-hander Brett Adcock (1-7, 6.65 ERA) of the Hooks. Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket starting at 6:45 p.m. with the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show.

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, upcoming promotions, 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 July 25, 2019


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