HERNANDEZ, FERNANDEZ LEAD NATURALS SERIES-CLINCHING WIN

FRISCO, Texas - For the second consecutive night, Northwest Arkansas used the combination of big innings and strudy relief pitching to garner a win over Frisco. On Wednesday night, Pedro Fernandez covered 3.1 innings of one-run relief while Elier Hernandez tabbed his second four-hit game of the season to lead the Naturals to a 12-8 win at Dr. Pepper Ballpark. The victory clinched the club's sixth series victory in the last seven sets.
Northwest Arkansas (26-26) scored three runs in the second, five in the third inning and four more runs in the sixth while hitting a season-high three home runs in the contest.
The Naturals jumped on Frisco starter, Brett Martin (1-5, 8.93) in the second inning. Following an infield hit by Hernandez, Alex Liddi doubled him home from first to crack the scoreboard. Luis Villegas plated Liddi from second base and eventually scored on a two-out single by Jecksson Flores to give Northwest Arkansas a 3-0 lead.

Frisco countered with a five-run bottom half the second inning to take a 5-3 advantage; but Liddi's three-run homer in the top of the third, vaulted the Naturals in front 6-5. The Naturals tacked on two more runs in the frame and Fernandez (1-1, 4.50) held the advantage over the middle frames.
The right-hander, entered to get the last out in the fourth inning and covered the fifth, sixth and seventh frames, allowing just a run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
Starter, Andres Machado worked 3.2 innings, allowed seven runs on 10 hits before handing the ball over the Fernandez.
Flores led off the sixth inning with a solo home run and Hernandez followed it up with a three-run blast later on to secure the win and the series on Wednesday night.
Right-handers, Grant Gavin and Michael Mariot each worked a scoreless inning in the eighth and ninth frames, respectively.
With the win, the Naturals are now a half-game out of first place behind the front-running Springfield Cardinals (27-25) entering action on Thursday night.
The series concludes on Thursday night at Dr. Pepper Ballpark with the final game of the three-game set. Left-hander, Foster Griffin (2-5, 5.17) takes the hill against right-hander, Richelson Peña (2-3, 3.22) for the RoughRiders.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 6:45 p.m. pregame show leading up to first pitch to the 7:05 on 92.1-FM, the Ticket and the Naturals Radio Network.
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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