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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Homers Power Naturals Past Travs in Series Finale

August 5, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR - A pair of two-run home runs by Bubba Starling and Frank Schwindel powered Northwest Arkansas (15-24, 55-54) past the Arkansas Travelers (23-17, 59-50) at Arvest Ballpark on Wednesday night by the score of 6-2 in the series finale.

Naturals centerfielder Bubba Starling, the Naturals' July Player of the Month as determined by the Kansas City Royals earlier in the day, stepped to the plate with one on and no-out in the bottom of the first inning and launched a 2-0 pitch into the Bud Light Bullpen Café in left for a two-run home run, his seventh on the season, to give the Naturals an early 2-0 lead. Starling, the fifth overall selection in the 2011 MLB Draft by Kansas City, entered the game hitting .321 (36-for-112) in 20 games played since July 2.

North Little Rock would respond by scratching off runs in both the third and fourth inning to make it a 2-2 ballgame. Drew Maggi came through with a RBI single in the third, driving in Cal Towey, while Ruben Sosa delivered a RBI double in the fourth.

After the Travs tied the game at 2 in the top of the fourth, Northwest Arkansas immediately responded with a couple runs in the home half of the frame. With one out in the inning and a runner on, Frank Schwindel connected on a 2-1 pitch and drilled it over the wall in left and into the visitor's bullpen to score Zane Evans to give the Naturals their two-run lead back at 4-2. On the defensive-side of things, Schwindel also came up huge as he robbed a potential two-run single with a diving catch at first base in the fifth inning.

The Naturals completed the scoring by adding some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hunter Dozier collected a RBI single while Northwest Arkansas added their sixth and final run on a groundout by Jorge Bonifacio. The Naturals offense had seven hits on the night with two more coming from leadoff hitter Ramon Torres as he has five hits (5-for-8) in his last two games.

Northwest Arkansas' pitching staff backed the hitters tonight as RHP Brooks Pounders (1-1, 2.31 ERA) collected his first Double-A win since the 2013 season as the big right-hander went 7.0 innings giving up two runs, only one earned, on six hits while striking out three. RHP Albert Suarez (8-8, 3.42 ERA) was tagged with loss as he gave up four runs, two earned, in 6.0 innings of work while striking out 10 on the night. With the victory, the Naturals improve to 8-3 at Arvest Ballpark against the Travelers and 22-8 in series finales.

Northwest Arkansas will head to Tulsa for a four (4) game series against the Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Thursday night. The Naturals will then return to Arvest Ballpark for a six (6) game homestand with three (3) games each against the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A San Diego Padres, and the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A Houston Astros, beginning on Tuesday, August 11. Next homestand is highlighted by Faith & Family Night on Friday, August 14, a Yordano Ventura Bobblehead Giveaway on Saturday, August 15, and Bark in the Ballpark on Kids Eat FREE Family Sunday on August 16.

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, at 6:50 p.m. tomorrow night for the Indigo Sky Casino Pre-Game Show leading up to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Tulsa Drillers on the Naturals' flagship station KQSM 92.1 - FM, the Ticket.

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

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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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