NATURALS DROP SERIES OPENER TO DRILLERS IN TULSA

Rave goes 3-for-4 with homer, but Naturals can't overcome strong Drillers pitching effort.

Right fielder John Rave went 3-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's loss at Tulsa. (Alan Jamison)

By Naturals PR Department

June 7, 2022

TULSA, OK – The Northwest Arkansas Naturals brought the game close in the late innings but dropped the series opener to the Tulsa Drillers Tuesday night, 5-2. Right-hander Noah Murdock made his Double-A debut and struck out six across 5.0 innings of work. Murdock retired the first four batters he

TULSA, OK – The Northwest Arkansas Naturals brought the game close in the late innings but dropped the series opener to the Tulsa Drillers Tuesday night, 5-2.

Right-hander Noah Murdock made his Double-A debut and struck out six across 5.0 innings of work. Murdock retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a string of four straight hits that plated two runs in the second.

Between the third and fourth innings, five of his six outs came via the strikeout, including three straight to end the fourth inning after a leadoff triple.

Four of Tulsa’s five runs came around on home runs, with solo shots from Andy Pages in the second and sixth innings, plus a two-run homer from Devin Mann in the fifth.

Northwest Arkansas struggled to get anything going offensively against Tulsa starter Gavin Stone, who struck out 13 Naturals across 6.0 scoreless innings, with Northwest Arkansas hitters striking out a season-high 17 times Tuesday night.

Once the Naturals got to the bullpen, the offense began to make things interesting and nearly got back in the game. After a leadoff double in the eighth from John Rave, Northwest Arkansas loaded the bases and brought home the first run of the game as Nick Loftin was hit by a pitch.

While it brought the tying run to the plate, the Naturals could not add any more runs to the board until there were two outs in the ninth, as Rave connected on his third hit of the day, a solo home run to right field that brought the score within three, though he ended the day a triple shy of the cycle.

While Tulsa kept Northwest Arkansas from surging ahead, right-hander Will Klein produced his best outing of the season out of the bullpen, striking out the side in the seventh inning and adding a fourth punchout in the eighth, as he totaled 2.0 hitless and scoreless innings of relief.

The Naturals look to bounce back Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. CT from ONEOK Field, as left-hander Dante Biasi will head to the mound for his fifth start of the season.