Zobac Dominates Amarillo in Historic Fashion, K's 12 in Win
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Naturals starter Steven Zobac dazzled on Wednesday, striking out 12 over 7.0 shutout innings as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (18-16, 53-50) shutout the Amarillo Sod Poodles (15-20, 45-59) at Hodgetown in Amarillo, Texas. Zobac entered the record books with the performance, one of the greatest strikeout nights
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Naturals starter Steven Zobac dazzled on Wednesday, striking out 12 over 7.0 shutout innings as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (18-16, 53-50) shutout the Amarillo Sod Poodles (15-20, 45-59) at Hodgetown in Amarillo, Texas. Zobac entered the record books with the performance, one of the greatest strikeout nights in team history.
The righty retired the first eight hitters he saw in order from the first through third innings, striking out three. Dillan Shrum blasted his second homer in as many days and 14th of the season with two outs in the second to give Zobac a 1-0 lead.
The righty gave up a double with two outs in the third before dominating the Sod Poodles lineup again. Zobac ran through the next 11 hitters in order, striking out eight in that span, including seven straight from the fifth through seventh innings. He finished off the performance with his 12th strikeout in the seventh, getting A.J. Vucovich swinging to end the frame.
Zobac became just the fourth Naturals pitcher to strike out 12 or more hitters in an outing, trailing only Danny Duffy's franchise record of 13 Ks in 2013. He set a career-high, blowing past his previous high of eight.
Northwest Arkansas scored three more runs in the seventh thanks to an RBI double off the bat of Diego Hernandez and a balk that scored a run while Ryan Brady and Anderson Paulino finished the shutout over the eighth and ninth innings. Naturals pitching finished the night with 15 strikeouts and threw a combined 105 pitches, 80 of which were Zobac's.
Zobac finished the night with his second win of the year, throwing 7.0 scoreless innings while allowing two hits and the 12 strikeouts, tossing 80 pitches with 62 strikes.
The Naturals and Sod Poodles continue their series on Thursday with a 7:05 PM CT first pitch at Hodgetown. Royals #2 prospect Ben Kudrna (0-1, 6.52) gets the start for the Naturals. Fans can follow along with the "Voice of the Naturals" by listening to the radio broadcast on www.nwanaturals.com and the MiLB app.