Sports stats



TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Strike Early in Series Finale Win against Frisco

April 21, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark. - Northwest Arkansas (6-6) defeated the Frisco RoughRiders (5-7) on Tuesday afternoon by the score of 8-4. The Naturals broke open the game with some early offense and received a solid pitching performance by starter Glenn Sparkman. Sparkman (1-2, 4.50 ERA) collected the win, the first victory by a Naturals starter on the season, as he went six innings giving up only two runs on three hits while striking out six and surrendering only three walks to the Double-A Texas Rangers.

Frisco scored the first run of the game as the first two batters combined to do the damage against Sparkman. Chris Garia led off the game with a double and Luis Mendez followed that up with a RBI single but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch it into a double. The run gave Frisco an early 1-0 advantage but the lead would only last until the Naturals turn at bat.

The Naturals took advantage of some defensive miscues and some timely hitting to respond in the bottom half of the first inning. Lane Adams led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Angel Franco. The next two hitters, Jorge Bonifacio and Balbino Fuenmayor, would reach by Frisco errors to set the table for the middle of the Naturals lineup. After a Mike Bianucci strikeout, the Naturals offense would deliver with two outs. Alex Liddi gave the Naturals the lead with a 2-run single to center before Dusty Coleman would double home another two runs to give Northwest Arkansas an early 4-1 lead over Frisco

Sparkman would work a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the second before the Naturals would get back to their offensive ways in the bottom half of the inning. The 2-out rally began with an Angel Franco single before last night's hero, Jorge Bonifacio, would connect on a mammoth 2-run home run over the left field wall to extend the lead to 6-1. Bonifacio leads the team with four home runs.

Northwest Arkansas would go on to score two more runs in the third inning to stretch their lead to 8-1 over the RoughRiders. In total, the Naturals scored seven of their eight runs with two outs and cranked out 14 hits on the afternoon with Adams, Franco, Fuenmayor, Liddi, and Gore all collecting multi-hit games while eight out of the Naturals nine starters collected at least one hit.

Frisco would try to rally late with back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the ninth by Nick Williams and Drew Robinson but it would not be enough as RHP Matt Murray would retire the next two RoughRiders and secure the 8-4 victory and the save. Frisco starter Andrew Faulkner took the loss working 2.2 innings giving up 8 runs, 4 earned, and now moves to 1-1 on the year with a 4.09 ERA.

Northwest Arkansas enjoys a league-wide off day tomorrow before beginning North Divisional play on Thursday night in Tulsa. The Naturals will send LHP Jonathan Dziedzic (0-2, 2.35 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Deck McGuire (2-0, 1.38 ERA) of the Drillers. The Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A Los Angeles Dodgers, are 7-4 entering play on Tuesday night and feature a roster with the Dodgers top two (2) prospects via MLB.com in INF Corey Seager and LHP Julio Urias.

You can catch all live play-by-play action on April 23rd with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on your home for the Naturals on KQSM 92.1 The Ticket at 6:50 p.m. Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch.

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.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



Texas League Stories from April 21, 2015


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.

Other Recent Northwest Arkansas Naturals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central