TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Stunned in Springfield

Published on July 23, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Naturals' first baseman, Frank Schwindel made just three errors in 67 games at first base for Class-A Wilmington and had not committed an error in 14 games at first for Northwest Arkansas; until Thursday night. With two outs and a tying run at third base, a weakly tapped baseball by Mike O'Neill dribbled under the glove of Schwindel to tie the game and allowed for Anthony Garcia to bat. Garcia delivered a two-out, two-strike double to score O'Neill from second to win the game, 3-2 on Thursday night at Hammons Field.

Northwest Arkansas (49-47/9-17) took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning that they gathered in the sixth inning. Alex Liddi roped a two-out, two-run double off reliever Kurt Heyer who followed starter Mike Mayers to give the Naturals a 2-0 lead. Mayers went 5.2 innings, allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts in a no-decision for the Cardinals.

Naturals starter, Jonathan Dziedzic was just as good - if not better - than Mayers. The left-hander from Humble, Texas turned in his second straight quality start working 6.0 innings of one-run baseball scattering five hits with three strikeouts throughout his night. The southpaw would not factor in the decision.

Relievers Malcom Culver and Mark Peterson followed the start of Dziedzic with Culver working a scoreless frame with three strikeouts while Peterson pitched a shutout eighth and began the ninth. The right-hander walked Aledmys Diaz who was the eventual tying run and gave way to Daniel Stumpf (4-4, 4.34) with one out in the ninth.

Stumpf got a ground ball to Schwindel for the second out before the error and walk-off double by Garcia.

Naturals designated hitter tonight, Lane Adams, finished 3-for-4 with two doubles while LIddi ended his night 1-for-3 with his 24th double of the season.

Northwest Arkansas continues the series against Springfield (45-52/15-12) with game two slated for 7:10 p.m. on Friday night at Hammons Field. Right-hander Luke Farrell (1-2, 3.30) toes the slab against right-hander Andrew Morales (4-6, 5.08) for the Cardinals.

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, at 6:55 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 7:10 p.m. first pitch on the Naturals flagship station, 92.1 - FM, the Ticket.

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

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Texas League Stories from July 23, 2015


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