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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Split Twin Bill in Tulsa

June 12, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


TULSA, Okla. - The Naturals trailed for the majority of the opening game of the double-header at ONEOK Field against the Tulsa Drillers on Friday night; but a three-run sixth and a three-run home run by Zane Evans lifted Northwest Arkansas in game one 6-4. Tulsa took game two, 4-3.

Drillers' starter Rudy Owens made his Tulsa debut and retired the first 16 batters he faced to open up the contest before Evans cracked his first of two home runs on the day to break up the perfect game bid. Kenny Diekroeger followed with a single before Lane Adams took Owens over the leftfield wall to cut the Drillers lead to 4-3.

Reliever Jorge De Leon (0-3, 4.50) retired the first two batters in the top of the 7th inning before Bubba Starling doubled and advance to third on a wild pitch. The Drillers elected to intentionally walk Mike Bianucci which brought Evans back to the plate. On the first pitch he saw from De Leon, Evans hit a towering three-run home run over the leftfield walk to put the Naturals in front, 6-4.

Left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic (3-3, 3.61) worked all 7.0 innings allowed four runs, two earned, on eight hits to earn his third win of the season in the Naturals first complete-game of the season.

In the nightcap, Northwest Arkansas (35-25) jumped out to a 3-0 lead off starter Randy Fontanez (1-1, 4.67) using an RBI double by Balbino Fuenmayor and a two-run double by Hunter Dozier to give starter Mark Peterson the lead headed to the home half of the frame.

Peterson, who made his first professional start of his career, allowed three runs on six hits with two strikeouts over 2.0 innings of work in a no-decision effort. Reliever Sam Selman (1-3, 4.07) took the loss in game two for the Naturals with right-hander Malcom Culver tossing 2.0 two perfect innings in the fifth and the sixth innings.

The Naturals head home for a pivotal four-game series against the Arkansas Travelers beginning on Saturday, June 13. Northwest Arkansas will send right-hander Miguel Almonte (4-3, 4.03) to the hill for game one while the Travelers have not announced their probables for the series.

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, on Tuesday at 5:50 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 6:05 p.m. first pitch on the Naturals flagship station, 92.1 - FM, the Ticket from Arvest Ballpark.

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

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



Texas League Stories from June 12, 2015


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