NATURALS STAY HOT AND TAKE OPENER AT SPRINGFIELD

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Right-hander, Jace Vines worked 7.1 innings of one-run relief while the offense pounded out a dozen hits in the 7-4 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Thursday night at Hammons Field. The victory snapped a seven-game road losing skid and marked the first win over the Cardinals since June 8.
Vines (1-1, 7.07) took the ball with a man on second and two-outs in the first inning, following in relief of Major League rehabber, Jesse Hahn, and stymied the Cardinals over the ensuing seven and one-third frames. The 23-year old worked in-and-out against the all-right-handed line-up of Springfield and struck out seven batters, matching a season-high with just one walk on the night.
Northwest Arkansas (46-57/11-22) broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Nick Heath prolonged the frame with a sliced double down the left-field line and scored a batter later on a single by Nick Dini , dropped in just in front of the diving left-fielder, Johan Mieses , giving the Naturals a 1-0 lead.
The advantage doubled in the fifth frame with a two-out single by Kelvin Gutierrez . Two pitches prior, Kort Peterson swiped second base to set-up the run-scoring play. Peterson's theft was one of four stolen bases on the night for the Naturals.

In the sixth inning, Peterson did the damage with his bat. He smoked a two-run double off the right-field wall after the Cardinals elected to intestinally walk Jecksson Flores to load the bases with one-out in the frame. Peterson made them pay by putting one out of the diving reach of Randy Arozarena , giving the Naturals a 4-0 lead.
The Peterson two-bagger jarred starter, Mike O'Reilly from the contest as he exited with Peterson left on second base. Erick Mejia promptly drove him in from second with a bloop single in to leftfield moving the final line of O'Reilly to five and one-third innings, six runs and four earned on eight hits with four walks. O'Reilly (3-5, 4.65) entered the contest with a 2-0 record and 2.12 ERA against the Naturals in 2018.
The four-run sixth helped propel Northwest Arkansas to the 7-4 win. Springfield grabbed a trio of runs in the ninth inning against Franco Terrero; but the right-hander fanned three hitters in the inning to hold on for the win.
Peterson finished 3-for-5 with two runs batted in with two doubles while Gutierrez drove in two runs and now has seven RBIs in his last two games and eight over his last nine contest. Heath finished a home run shy of the cycle and drove in a run with his 3-for-4 evening.
The seven and one-third innings by Vines tonight marked his longest career outing, surpassing his previous best of seven innings which he had accomplished three times prior.
The Naturals gained a game in the standings on the Cardinals; but still remain 10 games back of front-running Tulsa.
The series continues on Friday, July 27 with left-hander, Emilio Ogando (6-6, 6.41 ERA) going for the Naturals. The left-hander has twirled three quality starts in his last four outings including back-to-back six-inning performances. Opposite for the Cardinals will be right-hander, Anthony Shew (5-5, 4.10).
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 6:50 Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch on the flagship station of the Naturals, 92.1-FM, the Ticket and across 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.
-Naturals-