Dickerson walk-off secures series win for Naturals
SPRINGDALE, AR – Dustin Dickerson’s walk-off single to deep center secured the series win for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (6-2), as they defeated the Amarillo Sod Poodles (1-7) Saturday night at Arvest Ballpark, 5-4. The Naturals aim to take five out of six from the Sod Poodles this week, with
SPRINGDALE, AR – Dustin Dickerson’s walk-off single to deep center secured the series win for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (6-2), as they defeated the Amarillo Sod Poodles (1-7) Saturday night at Arvest Ballpark, 5-4. The Naturals aim to take five out of six from the Sod Poodles this week, with first pitch on Sunday at 2:05 PM CT.
The Nats got on the board first on Saturday, scoring two runs in the third inning courtesy of Omar Hernandez’s two-run single. After fouling off two Ashton Izzi curveballs, Hernandez got another curveball down and punched it into center field, which plated Justin Johnson and Colton Becker.
After Manuel Pena’s two-run homer tied the ballgame in the fourth, Jack Pineda gave NWA the lead right back with an RBI single up the middle that scored Sam Kulasingam.
The Naturals led 3-2 through five innings, and the Sod Poodles took their first lead of the night via Danny Serretti two-run home run, his second of the season.
Sam Kulasingam doubled to lead off the sixth and came around to score on a wild pitch, which tied the score at 4. The contest remained tied, thanks to the Nats’ bullpen, until the bottom of the ninth.
Dickerson stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the ninth, and he drilled a sinker 104 miles-per-hour past center fielder Junior Franco, bringing in Colton Becker to win the game, 5-4.
Felix Arronde got the start for Northwest Arkansas, and allowed two runs over 4.1 innings in his Arvest Ballpark debut. Tommy Molsky got the final two outs of the fifth without surrendering a run, Hunter Owen went three frames in his season debut and Zachary Cawyer (2-0) dealt a scoreless ninth, and picked up the win.
The Naturals face off against the Sod Poodles for the series finale Sunday at 2:05 PM CT. Fans 12 and younger will receive a voucher for FREE Kids Snack as they enter the gates and kids can run the bases after the game. Fans can get their tickets at NWANaturals.com for the upcoming 12-game homestand, which starts Tuesday, April 21.
As always, fans can follow along through the Naturals' TV broadcast, available with a subscription to MLB.tv or the MiLB App and for free through the Bally Live Sports App. Additionally, you can listen to the radio call of all 138 games with the "Voice of the Naturals", Shawn Murnin, on the MiLB app and NWANaturals.com.