TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Viloria Walks off Naturals in Series Opener

Published on May 28, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Looking to be in trouble in the ninth, Northwest Arkansas scores three runs to stun the Texas League North division-leading Arkansas Travelers (32-17) by a 5-4 final on Tuesday night as Meibrys Viloria walks off the Naturals (21-29) in the series opener. The victory over the in-state rivals is the first for the Naturals since they won on April 17 in North Little Rock.

Trailing 4-2 in their last at bat, Northwest Arkansas got the comeback started immediately against Travelers' reliever Zac Grotz (L, 1-2) as Emmanuel Rivera cut the deficit in half with lead-off home run on the second pitch he saw. The next batter, Taylor Featherston, singled to center before advancing to third base on a perfectly timed hit-and-run with Travis Jones, whom singled through the hole at second base to put runners at the corners. Jones would proceed to steal second base to set the stage for Viloria. The Naturals' catcher would deliver as he ripped a line drive single into the right field corner for the walk-off win. The team stormed onto the field and celebrated by dousing Viloria in short center field as they took the series opener by a 5-4 final.

The end was fitting for Northwest Arkansas as they had to fight back throughout the game. The Travs raced out to a 2-0 lead behind the first two hitters of the game as Donnie Walton singled before Jake Fraley hit a towering two-run home run.

The 2-0 advantage remained until the third when the Naturals would tie up the contest. The hot-hitting D.J. Burt got things going with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a single by Nick Heath. After a successful double-steal put runners at second and third, Gabriel Cancel did what he does best as he drove in both for his team-leading 37th and 38th RBIs of the year.

Joseph Odom broke up the 2-2 tie in the seventh with a solo shot off Gerson Garabito to give the Travs the 3-2 lead. The visitors would then extend their lead to 4-2 in the ninth with another solo home run, this time off the bat of Nick Zammarelli.

Despite giving up a solo home run to Zammarelli, Naturals' reliever Gabe Speier (W, 1-1) picked up his first win of the season. Meanwhile, Grotz took the loss as he gave up three runs on four hits and did not record an out during his appearance.

Both teams received quality starts from their starters as Garabito tossed a season-high 7.0 innings of three-run baseball to go along with three strikeouts while Ricardo Sanchez of the Travelers was solid as well giving up just two runs through 6.0 frames

Reliever Yunior Marte made an appearance and was electric for Northwest Arkansas. The hard-throwing righty struck out three in 1.1 innings pitched and now has not allowed a run in his last five outings (5.2 innings) while striking out nine in that stretch.

The Naturals offense scored the five runs on 10 hits as every starter collected at least one knock while Rivera went 2-for-4.

Northwest Arkansas will continue their short homestand tomorrow night - Wednesday, May 29th - with Game 2 of this 3-game set against the Arkansas Travelers (Double-A Seattle Mariners) at Arvest Ballpark. First pitch between the in-state rivals is slated for 7:05 p.m. on $1.50 BBQ Slider Night. The Naturals will give the baseball to right-hander Ofreidy Gomez (2-3. 4.02 ERA) while the Travelers will counter with a righty of their own in Andrew Moore (0-0, 0.00 ERA), the reigning Texas League Pitcher of the Week for May 20th through May 26th. Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket beginning at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch.

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, promotional highlights, 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 May 28, 2019


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