TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals win wild affair Monday Night

Published on April 27, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR- Eight of the Naturals nine starters recorded a hit, and seven of nine crossed the plate in a wild 12-6 win for Northwest Arkansas over the Springfield Cardinals on Monday night. The Naturals almost scored as many runs in the first inning (six), as they did on the entire four game road trip against the Arkansas Travelers (seven).

After a day that featured intermittent rain showers most of the afternoon, the Naturals' offense was anything but once the skies cleared. The team batted around twice, eight of the nine players in the lineup had a hit, and a new season high in runs (12) and hits (14) were recorded. The Naturals wasted no time as they jumped on Cards pitcher Ryan Kulik for six runs in the first inning. After the Cardinals tied things at 6-6, the Naturals quickly responded with five runs during the bottom half of the inning to put the game away.

Northwest Arkansas (8-9) sent Anthony Lerew to the mound for the first meeting against the Springfield Cardinals. Lerew did not have his best stuff tonight but was able to fight through five innings and give the team a chance to win. Lerew did allow six hits and three earned runs before calling it a night. Gilbert De La Vara (1-0) picked up the win after blowing a save opportunity, his first of the season. De La Vara struggled in his two innings of work and allowed three hits, three walks, and two earned runs. Chris Nicoll was called upon to finish the game in a non-save situation, and he allowed just one hit and recorded two strikeouts in his brief two frames, lowering his bullpen-leading ERA to 0.79.

The Cardinals sent southpaw Ryan Kulik, just promoted from Class-A Advanced Palm Beach to the mound in his first ever Texas League start. Kulik, 23, had trouble with the Naturals offense from the start. Kulik was lucky to make it out of the first inning after allowing six runs, six hits, and ten batters to step up to the plate. The New Jersey native was yanked after three innings of work. Kulik gave up seven hits and six earned runs in his brief appearance. The Cardinals would send three other pitchers to the mound, with Eddie Degerman (0-1) picking up the loss.

The Naturals offense awoke and all nine players contributed in their doubling up of the Cards. Five players had multiple hits; Cody Strait led the way with three of his own. Mario Lisson and Brian McFall added two RBI, six other players brought in a run as well. Lisson and Duarte broke out of mini hitting slumps. Before tonight's game Lisson was 0 for his last 13, and Duarte was 0 for his last nine.

Daryl Jones continued to punish Naturals pitching for Springfield (11-6). The speedy outfielder, one of the Cardinals top prospects, was 2-4 with a double and two runs scored. Daniel Descalso added two triples on the evening, his third and fourth on the year.

Kurt Mertins, who was the only Natural not to record a hit, did make a lasting impression by stealing home in the bottom of the sixth. Mertins steal of home was the second ever in Northwest Arkansas history; while Mario Lisson stole home successfully on the road against Frisco in a loss last August, Mertins was the first to accomplish the feat at Arvest Ballpark.

Tuesday the Naturals will send right-hander Blake Johnson (0-2, 7.07) to the mound against another righty, Springfield's Brandon Dickson (1-0, 5.63). Game time is 6:30 P.M.

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

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Texas League Stories from April 27, 2009


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