NATURALS COME BACK TO STUN DRILLERS IN 8-6 THRILLER
TULSA, OK – Trailing by four runs halfway through the game, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals inched back to tie the game in the seventh, then took the lead with two outs in the ninth inning and held on to beat the Tulsa Drillers 8-6. Starting pitcher Jon Bowlan did not
TULSA, OK – Trailing by four runs halfway through the game, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals inched back to tie the game in the seventh, then took the lead with two outs in the ninth inning and held on to beat the Tulsa Drillers 8-6.
Starting pitcher Jon Bowlan did not receive much run support early, as the Naturals only managed to score one run in the first five innings, as the right-hander allowed five runs (four earned) over 4.1 innings of work with four strikeouts.
Right-hander Jonah Dipoto followed Bowlan with 2.2 scoreless innings and retired the final seven batters he faced to keep the Naturals within striking distance and provide the opportunity for the team to come back.
After Tucker Bradley singled home a run in the third, the Naturals rallied for three runs in the sixth to bring the score within one. Luca Tresh doubled home Bradley, then John Rave grounded out to score Tyler Gentry and Seuly Matias doubled in Tresh.
Trailing by a run as the seventh inning began, second baseman Morgan McCullough wasted no time and tied the game up on the first pitch he saw, with a game-tying home run down the right field line to bring the score to 5-5.
After Dipoto threw a 1-2-3 seventh and left-hander Walter Pennington fired a scoreless eighth inning, the Naturals entered the ninth tied for the second time this week.
McCullough drew a walk with one out in the ninth and moved up to second on a groundout, then the Drillers intentionally walked Bradley to get to Gentry. Already with two hits in the game, Gentry blasted a three-run homer to left field to put the Naturals up for the first time in the game.
Tulsa scored a run in the bottom of the ninth against Kasey Kalich and the Drillers loaded the bases with two outs to put both the tyinag and winning runs on, but Kalich won a seven-pitch battle to secure his second strikeout of the inning and finish off the win for the Naturals, an 8-6 victory.
Northwest Arkansas will try to win the series Sunday at 6:05 p.m. CT as Alec Marsh takes the mound for the Naturals at ONEOK Field, two strikeouts away from breaking the club’s single-season strikeout record.