NATURALS FALL IN SERIES OPENER TO TULSA AS DRILLERS SCORE SEVEN UNANSWERED

TULSA, OK – Despite leading 3-0 halfway through the fourth inning, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals fell to the Tulsa Drillers, 7-3 Tuesday night as the Drillers scored seven unanswered runs to take the series opener.

Right fielder Tyler Gentry started the scoring in the first with a sacrifice fly that plated Diego Hernández, then left fielder Tucker Bradley doubled the lead in the third inning with a solo home run, his 10th of the season.

Center fielder John Rave plated first baseman CJ Alexander on a fielder’s choice in the top of the fourth, but that was the last run Northwest Arkansas was able to put across.

Starting pitcher Alec Marsh was brilliant through three innings, not allowing a run while facing the minimum on just 32 pitches. After putting a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, the Drillers pushed across a run with a base hit. Still with two outs, Tulsa took the lead on back-to-back home runs to cap a five-run inning that turned the momentum in its favor.

Marsh stranded a runner on in the fifth, then Stephen Woods Jr. took over, as he struck out four across 2.0 innings of work. Woods Jr. pitched a scoreless sixth, then allowed two unearned runs in the seventh, as the Drillers doubled their lead to four runs, more than enough for the win.

In the top of the seventh, the Naturals put the tying run in scoring position and brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but Tulsa’s bullpen silenced the Northwest Arkansas bats, as a pair of relievers combined to strike out six straight from that point forward, retiring the final seven batters of the night.

C.J. Eldred only needed nine pitches to throw a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but the Naturals could not mount a comeback in the ninth, falling 7-3.

Northwest Arkansas will try and bounce back Wednesday night against the Drillers, as left-hander Anthony Veneziano takes the mound for a 7:05 p.m. CT first pitch.