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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: Tulsa Returns for Four with Naturals

June 19, 2014 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark. - The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (2-0) welcome the Double-A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, the Tulsa Drillers (0-2) to town after most recently taking three out of four against the Arkansas Travelers as part of the Arkansas Diamond Series. The Naturals have flipped the script on the current North Division Texas League standings with two straight victories to open the second half, they now sit tied atop the standings with a two game lead on Tulsa.

Winners of three straight, the Naturals have played better ball of late in their home park, winning two of their last three series (a three game set with Corpus Christi and the most recent four game series with the Travelers. They will, however, hope for better results against the Drillers this time around after losing three out of four in their most recent series at Arvest Ballpark.

This series has a much different feel to it than the previous one a little over two weeks ago. While a lot of hype surrounded Rockies top prospects RHP Eddie Butler and RHP Jonathan Gray, among others in Tulsa's rotation heading into that series, the Naturals have since gone 7-5 compared to the Drillers 5-7. In addition, Tulsa has lost two vital members of their rotation, Butler to a promotion to the Rockies and RHP Dan Winkler to a season-ending surgery, while the Naturals welcome a new face to town, Hunter Dozier, the No. 7 prospect (Baseball America) in the Royals organization.

Prior to Dozier's arrival from Wilmington, the Deton, Texas native batted .295 to go along with 4 home runs, 39 runs batted in and 7 stolen bases. Dozier impressed during the month of June hitting .373 with two home runs and driving in 13 runs in just 14 games to round out the first half in the Carolina League. He will join a pair of 2014 Texas League All-Stars in Cheslor Cuthbert and Orlando Calixte to form one of the more dynamic infields across the Texas League.

The Naturals exploded for eight extra base hits in the series finale, 8-2 win, over the Arkansas Travelers with Jorge Bonifacio drilling his fourth home run of the season and collecting a pair of RBI in the win. The eight extra base hits are the most in a single game by the Naturals in 2014 including six doubles which is also a single-game high for the year. Lane Adams has stolen most of the offensive headlines for the Naturals hitting .417 (5-for-12) with three home runs and five runs driven in during the previous four home games in the eight game stand.

The starting pitching has dazzled for the Naturals over the past 14 games winning eight of the 14 games and posting a 2.28 ERA as a five-some staff. The starters allowed just seven earned run over the last four-game series against the Arkansas Travelers while winning that series three games to one. The bullpen has been stout in the backend of contests as well holding an ERA of 2.12 over the last 35.2 innings of work.

After Tulsa claimed the North Division in the first half to solidify their place in the Texas League playoffs, the second half's commencement on Tuesday brought renewed hope to Northwest Arkansas in which was demonstrated on the field. The Naturals rallied behind strong pitching performances in all four games of their most recent series including quality starts by RHPs Tim Melville, J.C. Sulbaran and Andy Ferguson. RHP Jason Adam will hope to continue the trend as he opens the series with Tulsa at 7:05p.m. Thursday night.

Pitching Match-ups

Northwest Arkansas Naturals (25-45/2-0) v. Tulsa Drillers (38- 31/0-2) - June 19 - June 22

GAME 1: RHP Richard Castillo (2-5, 4.64) v. RHP Jason Adam (1-6, 5.87) June 19 - 7:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark

The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 6:50 pregame show.

GAME 2: RHP Jonathan Gray (6-3, 3.39) v. RHP Tim Melville (1-6, 3.68) June 20- 7:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark

The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 6:50 pregame show.

GAME 3: LHP Carlos Hernandez (1-4, 2.50) v. RHP J.C. Sulbaran (4-5, 3.04) June 21 - 6:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark

The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 5:50 pregame show.

GAME 4: LHP Sam Selman (3-4, 3.53) v. RHP Mike Piazza (0-2, 6.30) June 22 - 2:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark

The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 1:50 pregame show.

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.

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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.

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