Naturals Fall into First Place Tie Tuesday
Published on August 2, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
TULSA, OK - The Naturals were held to just four hits by and did not score until the eighth inning on Tuesday night, dropping the opening game of their three-game series against the Tulsa Drillers, 6-2, at ONEOK Field.
With Monday's defeat, the Naturals (19-19, 54-51) have lost four of their first five games of what will be a seven-game road trip. In addition, the win pulls Tulsa (19-19, 52-56) even with the Naturals in the North Division second half standings with 32 games remaining.
The early innings made the difference on Tuesday, as the Drillers generated more baserunners than the Naturals and took advantage of their opportunities. In the first four innings, the Naturals had just one base hit and sent the minimum number of batters to the plate. On the other hand, Tulsa notched four hits against starter Mario Santiago (2-1) and had men reach base via two errors, a hit by pitch and a walk.
Three of those six runners came into score. In the bottom of the first, Tim Wheeler reached on Rey Navarro's fielding error and scored from second on an RBI double from Ben Paulsen. One inning later, Erik Wetzel knocked in Mike Zuanich with two out, making the score 2-0.
Santiago kept the Drillers off the board in the third, but in the fourth, Tommy Field opened the inning by reaching on an error and eventually came around to score when Brian Rike was picked off and caught in a rundown.
The early lead was plenty for Tulsa starter Joey Williamson (3-2), who retired the first eight Naturals to come to the plate. Ben Theriot broke through with a two-out single in the third but was thrown out on the way to second. Williamson followed that up by retiring another seven in a row into the top of the sixth inning.
In his six frames, Williamson allowed just a walk and two hits and struck out five, facing just one batter over the minimum. The right-hander has now pitched 13 scorless innings in five games against the Naturals this season, encompassing three relief outings and two starts within the last week.
Tulsa padded their advantage with two runs in the sixth, as reliever Edgar Garcia issued a bases-loaded walk and then hit the next batter to come to the plate. Mike Mitchell's RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh gave the home team a 6-0 lead.
The Naturals made a mark on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth, when Paulo Orlando tripled to open the inning before Wil Myers cranked a two-run homer to left, his fourth of the season. Trailing 6-2, the Naturals could get no closer, as Adam Jorgensen escaped the inning without further damage and Dustin Molleken tossed a scoreless ninth.
The two teams will meet for the second game of the series on Wednesday night, as Will Smith (9-8, 4.54) matches up with Tulsa's Dan Houston (3-2, 3.30). Houston is set to throw the first pitch of the game just after 7 p.m, and as always, the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN 92.1 The Ticket.
Texas League Stories from August 2, 2011
- Cardinals Beat Travelers 5-4 - Springfield Cardinals
- Williamson Leads Drillers Over Naturals, 6-2 - Tulsa Drillers
- Naturals Fall into First Place Tie Tuesday - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Missions Defeat Hooks 4-0 - San Antonio Missions
- Midland Holds off Roughriders in Series Opener - Frisco RoughRiders
- Game Notes, August 2 - Corpus Christi at San Antonio - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Padres Catcher Nick Hundley To Rehab In San Antonio - San Antonio Missions
- Hooks Home for Quick Four - Corpus Christi Hooks
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