Sports stats



TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals vanquish Drillers, clinch spot

September 6, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


TULSA, OK - Cody Clark's two homers provided the decisive margin as the Naturals beat the Tulsa Drillers 6-3 at Drillers Stadium on Sunday evening. The win locked up a playoff spot for the Naturals for the second consecutive season.

Clark's first home run came back-to-back with a longball off the bat of Vance Wilson to lead off the third. His seventh blast of the season put the Naturals up 2-1, a lead they would not relinquish. The second homer, his eighth on the season, was a two-run blast one inning later that put the Naturals up by a 6-1 margin, giving them the insurance necessary to wrap up a spot in the Texas League Playoffs with one game remaining on the schedule.

Tulsa took the early lead in the second on an RBI double by Dayton Buller which scored Cole Garner, who was issued a two-out walk by starter Federico Castaneda.

Wilson and Clark led off the third with their back-to-back shots off Drillers' starter Keith Weiser. Weiser was unable to settle down, however, issuing back-to-back walks to the next two batters, Marc Maddox and Jarrod Dyson. After Kurt Mertins successfully sacrificed both runners over with a bunt, Jeff Bianchi's single to center plated both runners as the Naturals opened a 4-1 lead. Clark's two-run homer one inning later put the Naturals up by five.

Naturals' skipper Brian Poldberg would get an early pass to the showers in the fourth. After the starter Castaneda plunked Drillers' third baseman Darin Holcomb to lead off the fourth, Poldberg was ejected by home plate umpire Brett Robson for arguing that the pitch did not actually hit Holcomb. Castaneda would last into the fifth but was removed after plunking Dayton Buller to start the fifth and allowing a single to Daniel Mayora. John Bannister relieved and Naturals' catcher Cody Clark picked off Buller at second base. Bannister (4-3) then got Danny Sandoval swinging and Anthony Jackson to ground out to first to end the threat.

Tulsa (35-34, 73-66) would close the gap in the seventh with a two-run homer by Daniel Mayora off of Bannister which cut the Naturals' lead to 6-3, but they were unable to come through with the tying run on in the eighth. With Chad Orvella on for the Naturals, he got Dexter Fowler, on rehab from the Colorado Rockies, to ground out, and then Darin Holcomb doubled. Southpaw Rowdy Hardy then came on to replace Orvella, walked Michael Paulk, and retired Jeff Kindel on a groundout to put runners at second and third with two away. Naturals' closer Aaron Hartsock was summoned and got Cole Garner, who has been a thorn in the Naturals' side all season, to ground out weakly to short to end the inning.

Hartsock allowed a single to Danny Sandoval in an otherwise clean ninth, retiring Anthony Jackson on a groundout to earn his eighth save and set off a celebration near the mound. Weiser (9-15) took the loss, lasting six innings and allowing all six runs.

Northwest Arkansas (37-32, 73-66) was three outs away from clinching on Saturday, but Drillers' catcher Mike McKenry smacked a walk-off three-run homer that lifted second-place Tulsa within one game with two to play.

"[I just told them], 'Today's over, you can't let it affect tomorrow," Naturals manager Brian Poldberg told MLB.com. "They got down, 1-0, and responded right away. This team has never given up...After losing last night, they showed true character tonight."

The regular season wraps up Monday with a 7:05 P.M. start for the rubber game of this three-game road series between the Drillers and Naturals. For the Drillers, it will be the final game played at 29-year old Drillers' Stadium. Right-hander Samuel Deduno is scheduled to go for Tulsa, while the Naturals have not yet announced a starter. Game one of the Texas League Playoffs between the Naturals and Springfield Cardinals will be Wednesday evening at Hammons Field in Springfield.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The Naturals have a toll-free ticket hotline (1-877-444-2637) for fans to purchase Naturals tickets. Our website, nwanaturals.com offers fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online and avoid lines at the ticket windows by printing their tickets at home or at the office.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



Texas League Stories from September 6, 2009


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.

OurSports Central