FLORES CLAIMS BATTING TITLE IN FINALE
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Naturals' infielder Jecksson Flores claimed the Texas League Batting Title, accomplishing a feat only done once prior in franchise history, but Northwest Arkansas (35-35, 70-70) would fall to the Arkansas Travelers (36-33, 71-68) by a 8-3 score in the finale of the 2018 season. With the loss,
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Naturals' infielder
The 24-year-old Flores finished the season with a .314 batting average to become just the second Natural to win the batting title. The infielder out of Cuidad Bolivar, Venezuela took over the top spot from former teammate
Outside of the Flores accomplishment, Arkansas did most of the celebrating during the finale on Labor Day. Facing
The visitors scored three runs in a first on a RBI single by
The game remained 3-1 into the fourth before the Travelers extended the lead to 5-1. Mariscal doubled to begin the inning and scored on a triple by
Kennedy's day was done after 77 pitches, 50 of which went for strikes. The veteran right-hander gave up six runs on seven hits in 4.0 complete innings of work in his rehab assignment. In the fifth, Northwest Arkansas turned to
North Little Rock added yet another tally in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-1 as
A day after a former Natural in
Even with the loss, the Naturals won the series over the Arkansas Travelers. Northwest Arkansas finishes 19-19-5 in series.
Today's game against the Travelers marked the conclusion of the Texas League's 2018 regular season. Northwest Arkansas will now head into the off-season while the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners) will host the Tulsa Drillers (Dodgers) in Game 1 of the Texas League North Divisional Series on Wednesday, September 5 in North Little Rock. The Naturals will return to Arvest Ballpark next year on Thursday, April 4, 2019 when they'll host the Springfield Cardinals on Opening Night of the 2019 season.
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 upcoming 2019 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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