NATURALS OVERCOME FOUR-RUN DEFICIT TO BEAT ROCKHOUNDS IN 10 INNINGS, 9-7

MIDLAND, TX – The Northwest Arkansas Naturals trailed by four runs at the end of the third inning but slowly chipped away to tie the game, fell behind once again and then tied the game in the ninth to force extras, surging ahead in the 10th for a 9-7 win in extras Saturday night over the Midland RockHounds.

Seuly Matias and Michael Massey each contributed three-hit nights, with Matias orchestrating the first comeback of the night and Massey helping the Naturals charge ahead late.

Matias was responsible for all five runs the Naturals scored across the first six innings, coming up a single shy of the single. He tripled in the second inning and scored on a Ryan Grotjohn groundout to begin the scoring. In the fourth inning, he doubled home two runs, then scored on a Nick Loftin single to bring Northwest Arkansas within one.

In the sixth, Matias led off the inning with his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to left field that tied the game at 5-5.

While the RockHounds struck for two runs in the seventh off of reliever Walter Pennington, Tucker Bradley brought the Naturals within one in the eighth inning on his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field with two outs.

In the ninth, Massey opened the inning with a single, then scored as Logan Porter singled to left and the ball was misplayed by Midland’s left fielder, coming all the way around from first to tie the game and force extras.

In the 10th, Jake Means led off with his second walk of the day, his fourth time reaching base, then he and the placed runner Grotjohn, advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Bradley. While Loftin was walked to load the bases, Brhet Bewley bounced into a fielder’s choice that scored Grotjohn to give the Naturals the lead and Massey singled in Means for an important run of insurance, his third single of the day.

Massey has recorded at least two hits in every game of the series this week with Midland, 13-for-24 at the plate this week (.542) with three doubles, a home run and nine runs batted in, along with a 1.412 OPS.

Starter Anthony Veneziano tied a pair of season highs, striking out five over 5.0 innings in his fourth straight outing of at least 4.0 innings. After Pennington pitched two innings, right-hander Yefri Del Rosario took the mound in the eighth. While he put the first two batters of the inning on, he stranded both in scoring position and went on to retire the next nine batters, to complete three scoreless innings through the end of the game, earning his fourth win of the year in relief.

The team’s first extra-inning win of the year pushes the Naturals (22-21) back over .500 and secures the series win, having taken 4 of the first five games. It also marks the first time the Naturals have ever won more games than they lost in a single season on the road at Midland.

The Naturals will try to end the two-week road trip with another win Sunday, at 2:00 p.m. CT as Angel Zerpa heads back to the mound for his second start of the week.