ALEXANDER DRIVES IN SIX AS NATURALS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT GAME TO DRILLERS

CJ Alexander ties career-high with 6 RBI, but Naturals fall by three runs to Tulsa.

First baseman CJ Alexander went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and six runs batted in on Friday in the loss. (Kelsey Chanler)

By Naturals PR Department

August 5, 2022

SPRINGDALE, AR – First baseman CJ Alexander drove in six runs, but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals fell to the Tulsa Drillers, 12-9 Friday night at Arvest Ballpark. Northwest Arkansas jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, thanks in large part to the efforts of Alexander. He doubled in two runs

SPRINGDALE, AR – First baseman CJ Alexander drove in six runs, but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals fell to the Tulsa Drillers, 12-9 Friday night at Arvest Ballpark.

Northwest Arkansas jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, thanks in large part to the efforts of Alexander. He doubled in two runs to open the scoring in the bottom of the first, the Naturals scored twice on wild pitches, the second from Alexander.

In the second, Alexander connected on a three-run homer, his third straight night with a home run. His final RBI of the night came in a two-run sixth inning, with a sacrifice fly to right field after a run scored moments earlier on a wild pitch, tying a career high in RBI set earlier this season.

Through 16 games with the Naturals, the left-handed hitter now has four home runs and 17 runs batted in.

Despite being up 7-0 after the second, the Naturals lead slowly fell apart, as Tulsa scored five runs in the third and twice in the fourth inning to tie the game at seven. The Drillers took the lead in the fifth on a Naturals error, an 8-6 advantage.

After the Naturals two-run sixth inning, capped by Alexander’s sac fly, the Drillers jumped ahead in the eighth inning on a grand slam that was too much for Northwest Arkansas to overcome.

Despite collecting just five hits, the Naturals drew a season-high 13 walks, led by three from Nick Loftin and two from each Tucker Bradley, Tyler Gentry, Logan Porter and Jake Means. Bradley, Loftin, Gentry and Alexander each scored twice in the three-run loss.

The Naturals will try and get back in the win column Saturday at 6:05 p.m. CT with right-hander Alec Marsh on the mound.