Naturals Sweep Twin Bill in North Little Rock
May 10, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Good pitching and timely hitting produced a double-header sweep for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (19-11) over the Arkansas Travelers (18-11) on Sunday afternoon at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Naturals took game one 3-1 and polished off the double-dip with an 8-2 victory in the finale. Northwest Arkansas over takes the top spot in the Texas League North for the first time this season.
Game one saw right-hander Andy Ferguson (4-0, 0.85) work into the sixth inning allowing just one run on six hits to earn his fourth win of the season. The Naturals supported his efforts with a three-run top of the sixth where Alex Liddi belted a two-run, two-out triple over centerfielder Chad Hinshaw and on the very next pitch, Micah Gibbs smacked a double to plate Liddi to account for the three run frame.
Left-hander Daniel Stumpf took over with two on and two out in the sixth inning and took care of the frame on two pitches. Worked a scoreless seventh inning to notch his third straight save of the season.
More of the same in the second game of the double-header: right-hander J.C. Sulbaran (3-2, 3.27) turned in his third straight quality start to garner his third consecutive win on the season. The Curacao native allowed two runs on five hits over his six innings of work.
Northwest Arkansas plated single runs in the first and second innings using an RBI single by Mike Bianucci in the first and an one-run ground out by Santiago Nessy in the second. But it was the sixth inning that saw all the action. The Naturals capitalized on three walks and two errors with Bianucci driving in a pair of runs on a double to highlight the inning. Angel Franco added a home run in the fifth inning, his fourth of the year.
Newly added reliever, Benino Pruneda appeared in his first game for the Naturals working the seventh inning. The 26-year old right-hander worked a scoreless frame and struck out the final batter faced to polish off the win.
The double-header sweep was the first of the season for the Naturals as they take a two games to none series lead in the four game set. Game three will feature the Kansas City Royals No. 6 overall prospect (Baseball America), Miguel Almonte (2-1, 3.91) who will search for his third win of the season. He takes on left-hander Nate Smith (3-2, 3.31) who will toe the slab for the Travelers.
First pitch is slated for 7:10 p.m. from Dickey-Stephens Park with the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show beginning at 6:55 p.m. on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly.
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.
Texas League Stories from May 10, 2015
- Naturals Sweep Twin Bill in North Little Rock - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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