Naturals Claim Series Opener over Drillers
April 21, 2017 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Locked in a 1-1 game in the seventh, third baseman Mauricio Ramos delivered the game-winning RBI single to give the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (5-8) a 2-1 series opening victory over the Tulsa Drillers (6-7) on Thursday night.
As the tie game got late, the Naturals turned to the middle of their order to provide some fire power. Clean-up hitter Frank Schwindel led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left field, which was just out of the reach of the Tulsa third baseman. Ramos, the very next hitter, put Northwest Arkansas on top for good at 2-1 with a RBI single to right field.
Tulsa was the first team to get on the board with a run in the fourth courtesy of some two-out offense. Three consecutive singles by Kyle Garlick, Edwin Rios, and Kyle Farmer produced the run as Farmer delivered the run-scoring single for an early 1-0 lead. Northwest Arkansas though would have an immediate answer as Alfredo Escalera led off the home half with a double. After moving to third base on a wild pitch, Escalera came into score on a sacrifice fly by Schwindel to tie the game at 1-1.
The Naturals gave the ball to RHP Miguel Almonte, a member of the Kansas City Royals 40-man roster, to begin the series. The 24-year-old was up to the challenge as he was spectacular in the game. The hard-throwing righty out of the Dominican Republic allowed only one run on five hits, no walks, and struck out a season-high seven in 6.0 innings but did not factor in the decision.
The Northwest Arkansas bullpen picked up where Almonte left off with 3.0 innings of relief. RHP Reid Redman (W, 1-0) got the win with 2.0 scoreless frames while RHP Jake Newberry (S, 2) worked the ninth and picked up his second save of the season.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their eight game homestand with Game 2 of this 4-game series against the Tulsa Drillers (Double-A Los Angeles Drillers) tomorrow night - Friday, April 21 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tomorrow night's game features a Post-Game Fireworks Spectacular with Popular Player Walk-Up Songs by SeaPak and a Special Appearance by Nickelodeon's Shimmer and Shine. Veteran RHP Christian Binford (1-0, 2.25 ERA) will take the mound for the Naturals and he'll be opposed by RHP Ivan Vieitez (0-1, 4.32 ERA) of the Drillers. Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on AM 1590 - The Ticket 2 at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading to first pitch.
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 Season 10 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.
-Naturals-
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (5-8) 2, Tulsa Drillers (6-7) 1
April 20, 2017
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tulsa 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
NW Arkansas 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 x 2 7 0
Tulsa AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Locastro, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .372
Mejia, E, SS 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .250
Garlick, LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .256
Rios, DH 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .352
Farmer, 3B 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .300
Hoenecke, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .205
Allie, RF 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .222
Beaty, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .182
Landon, CF 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .286
Hynes, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Castillo, F, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 34 1 8 1 1 9 15 .259
BATTING
2B: Allie (1, Almonte).
TB: Hoenecke; Rios 2; Allie 2; Garlick; Mejia, E; Farmer 2.
RBI: Farmer (4).
2-out RBI: Farmer.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hoenecke; Locastro; Farmer; Beaty.
GIDP: Hoenecke.
Team RISP: 1-for-9.
Team LOB: 7.
BASERUNNING
SB: Mejia, E (1, 2nd base off Almonte/Evans).
FIELDING
Outfield assists: Allie (Lopez, Jac at 3rd base).
DP: 2 (Castillo, F-Mejia, E-Beaty; Farmer-Locastro-Beaty).
NW Arkansas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Dewees Jr., CF 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .234
Escalera, RF 4 1 3 0 0 0 2 .288
Duenez, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .302
Schwindel, DH 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 .327
Ramos, 3B 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .313
Arteaga, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .195
Evans, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .125
Gore, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150
Lopez, Jac, 2B 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .250
Almonte, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Redman, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Newberry, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 27 2 7 2 1 3 9 .242
BATTING
2B: Escalera (1, Hynes); Schwindel (3, Castillo, F); Lopez, Jac (4, Castillo, F).
TB: Schwindel 2; Lopez, Jac 3; Ramos; Escalera 4.
RBI: Schwindel (10); Ramos (5).
SF: Schwindel.
GIDP: Evans; Escalera.
Team RISP: 1-for-3.
Team LOB: 3.
FIELDING
DP: (Lopez, Jac-Arteaga-Duenez).
Tulsa IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hynes 5.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 2.70
Castillo, F (L, 0-1) 3.0 5 1 1 1 1 0 1.29
Totals 8.0 7 2 2 1 3 0 4.02
NW Arkansas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Almonte 6.0 5 1 1 0 7 0 1.42
Redman (W, 1-0) 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 7.04
Newberry (S, 2) 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Totals 9.0 8 1 1 1 9 0 4.34
Game Scores: Hynes 65; Almonte 70.
WP: Hynes.
Pitches-strikes: Hynes 61-45; Castillo, F 47-33; Almonte 85-57; Redman 23-15; Newberry 20-11.
Groundouts-flyouts: Hynes 5-4; Castillo, F 4-1; Almonte 5-3; Redman 2-0; Newberry 2-0.
Batters faced: Hynes 17; Castillo, F 12; Almonte 23; Redman 7; Newberry 5.
Umpires: HP: Kyle McCrady. 1B: Jeff Gorman. 3B: Grant Conrad.
Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to CF.
First pitch: 7:05 PM.
T: 2:25.
Att: 3,494.
Venue: Arvest Ballpark.
April 20, 2017
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