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TL Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Heasley Deals as Naturals Take Game One of Series with Hooks

September 1, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Northwest Arkansas Naturals starting pitcher Jonathan Heasley retired the final 13 batters he faced, a stretch that extended to 16 straight when he turned the game over to the bullpen and the Naturals edged out a 3-1 win over the Corpus Christi Hooks Tuesday night to open up a six-game series.

Corpus Christi took a first inning lead on a pair of hits, including a two-out single. But from that point on, Heasley (MLB Pipeline's No. 14 Royals' prospect) did not allow a baserunner, striking out seven across 5.0 innings of one-run baseball, with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings to end his outing. 13 consecutive hitters retired in a single game ties Jonathan Bowlan's mark from May 12 against Tulsa, which he also did to end his outing.

Robert Garcia was the first arm out of the bullpen and retired the first three he faced, for a season-long stretch of 16 straight opposing batters retired by combined Naturals pitchers.

Northwest Arkansas tied Corpus Christi in the 2nd, as Brewer Hicklen scored from third when Jimmy Govern grounded into a double play. The game stayed tied until the 6th inning when Blake Perkins came home from third on a ground ball that Clay Dungan beat out, forcing a fielder's choice rather than an inning-ending double play.

After the Naturals took the 2-1 lead, Hicklen added insurance in the 8th inning with a home run to center field to lead off the inning. The 441-foot shot was his 14th of the season and proved to be important insurance.

Ándres Núñez earned his third consecutive save, pitching the game's final two innings and striking out three to bring the staff's total to 13 for the night. Corpus Christi loaded the bases to begin the ninth but despite having no free base with no outs, Núñez retired three straight batters to end the inning and preserve the club's third two-run win of the year.

Dungan and Hicklen each offered two-hit nights, while first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (MLB Pipeline's No. 18 Royals' prospect) stretched his hitting streak to eight games and on-base streak to 22.

Reigning Double-A Central Pitcher of the Week Drew Parrish will start for Northwest Arkansas (54-48) on Wednesday, as the series with Corpus Christi (46-57) moves to Game 2 with a 7:05 p.m. CT first pitch from Arvest Ballpark.

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