Late Rally Stalls as Naturals Drop Opener
July 11, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas scored a run in the ninth but the rally would stall as the Naturals (40-48/9-11) left the bases loaded as they drop the opener to the Tulsa Drillers (48-42/11-10) by a 5-2 final at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday night.
Trailing 5-1, the Naturals made some noise against Drillers reliever Jordan Sheffield in their last at bat. Khalil Lee led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Emmanuel Rivera. After a fly out, Taylor Featherston drove home Lee with a single back up the middle to cut the deficit to three runs and put runners at the corners. Kort Peterson followed with a walk but Sheffield got pinch-hitter Gabriel Cancel to strikeout and Angelo Castellano to fly out to left field to end the threat.
Tulsa took a 1-0 lead in the second against Brady Singer (L, 2-1) as Drew Avans drove in Christian Santana, whom had doubled to begin the inning. Northwest Arkansas would tie the game in the third on a RBI single by Lee, which knocked in Nick Heath.
The Drillers added a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly before tallying another in the sixth on a solo homer by Cody Thomas.
Singer tossed 7.0 innings of three-run baseball in his first outing since a scoreless appearance at the MLB Futures Game on Sunday. He scattered eight hits, walked two and struck out seven while posting a quality start in his first Double-A defeat.
Leading 3-1, Tulsa would use some two-out offense against reliever Andres Sotillet out of the Northwest Arkansas bullpen as Avans continued his productive night at the plate with a two-out, two-run double to give the visitors the 5-1 advantage.
Both teams would collect double-digit hits as the Drillers had 12 hits compared to 10 for the Naturals. The top of the Northwest Arkansas order shined as Heath, D.J. Burt, and Lee combined to go 7-for-10 with two walks, two runs, and an RBI in the contest.
Logan Bawcom (W, 1-0) earned the win in relief of Victor Gonzalez after the Tulsa lefty logged the first 1.2 innings of the game.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their 4-game homestand with Game 2 of this 4-game set against the Tulsa Drillers (Double-A Los Angeles Dodgers) tomorrow night - Friday, July 12th - at Arvest Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. and it's a Fireworks Friday presented by Farm Rich. The Naturals will send right-hander Gerson Garabito (4-6, 4.38 ERA) to the mound while the Drillers will counter with veteran right-hander Justin De Fratus (5-4, 4.50 ERA). Catch all of the play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket at 6:45 p.m. for 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, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
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