LATE HOMER DOOMS NATURALS IN DRILLVILLE

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa third baseman, Will Smith , hit a three-run home run off right-hander, Bryan Brickhouse with two-outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to vault the Drillers to a 4-3 win over the Naturals on Saturday night at ONEOK Field.
Northwest Arkansas (36-38/1-3) got a quality start from right-hander, Zach Lovvorn  to begin the game tonight. The 24-year old retired the first seven batters faced before allowing a solo home run in the third inning. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with a double-play ball started by first baseman Alex Liddi  while protecting a one-run lead.

The Naturals took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning against former big leaguer, Kyle Lobstein . The Tulsa left-hander retired the first seven men he faced to begin his start and then walked Anderson Miller to start the domino effect. Nick Dini  singled and Jecksson Flores  followed with a two-run double down the leftfield line to push the Naturals ahead.
Right-hander, Andres Machado  worked a scoreless seventh inning before the Drillers put the first two men on to begin the eight. Machado retired the next two men and turn the ball over to Brickhouse. The 26-year old made his Double-A debut and fell behind Smith 2-0 before surrendering the home run. He struck out the following batter on a 97-mph fastball0
The Naturals put the go-ahead run on in the ninth inning; but with two-outs, Dini hit a screaming liner out to straight away center only to be tracked down by DJ Peters  to end the game.
Erick Mejia  extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a ninth inning infield single. With his double, Flores extended his hitting streak to eight games, marking the third streak of eight-games or better with a hit for Flores.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon on Sunday, June 24 at ONEOK Field with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander, Scott Blewett (4-3, 5.40 ERA) will make his 15^th start of the season tomorrow for the Naturals against veteran right-hander, Justin DeFratus (2-3, 5.40 ERA) for the Drillers.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, for a 12:45 p.m. pregame show leading up to the 1:05 p.m. first pitch on 92.1-FM, the Ticket.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.
 
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
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