OGANDO, O'HEARN GUIDE NATURALS TO WIN OVER CARDINALS

SPRINGDALE, Ark - The combination of LHP Emilio Ogando and Ryan O'Hearn proved to be too much for Springfield to deal with on Thursday night as the duo guided the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (24-35/63-66) to a 4-2 win over the Cardinals (38-21/73-56) at Arvest Ballpark. The win gives the Naturals two in a row and improves their home record to 37-29 on the year.
Ogando (W, 9-9) has been a steady force in the Northwest Arkansas starting rotation and continued that trend in his 21^st start of the season. The lefty entered the game with the third lowest ERA in the Texas League at 3.19 and left the game with the second lowest mark at 3.08 after tossing 7.0 innings of one-run baseball against the high-powered Springfield offense.
Following the trend set by RHP Josh Staumont in last night's game, he had a no-hitter going through 4.0 but eventually gave up his first hit and run on a solo homer by Jacob Wilson in the fifth. That was the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding line.
The Naturals offense backed their starter to the tune of four runs, all of which came in the third inning. Samir Dueñez began the scoring with a run-scoring single to plate Parker Morin , whom had singled in his first at bat since coming off the Disabled List on August 22. With Jack Lopez and third and Duenez at first, O'Hearn delivered what would be the game-deciding blow as he took a 0-2 pitch on the outside corner from RHP Chris Ellis and drove it over the wall in left for a commanding 4-0 lead at the time.

Springfield would get the run in the fifth on the aforementioned Wilson home run before scoring their final tally in the eight on a RBI single by Tommy Edman . The Naturals bullpen combination of RHP Jason Adam (H, 1) and RHP Andrew Edwards (S, 4) worked the final 2.0 frames to secure the 4-2 win. The victory guarantees at least a series split heading into tomorrow's finale.
Northwest Arkansas out-hit the opposition by an 8-to-7 margin. O'Hearn led the way with a 2-for-3 night to go along with his 3 RBIs. Meanwhile, Duenez with the RBI single now has 74 on the season to put him in a tie for the third best total in the circuit.
With the win and Tulsa falling to Arkansas, the race for the second half Texas League North Division Title remains tied between the Cardinals and Drillers. Whomever wins will face the Naturals in the playoffs beginning on September 6 at Arvest Ballpark.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their final 7-game homestand of the regular season with the series finale of this 4-game set against the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A St. Louis Cardinals) tomorrow night - Friday, August 25 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Friday night's game features the final Post-Game Fireworks Spectacular of the season with Fan Vote Music Theme presented by SeaPak. The Naturals will send RHP Corey Ray (6-11, 5.32 ERA) to the mound while the Cardinals will counter with RHP Zac Gallen (4-3, 3.94 ERA). Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket, your home for Naturals baseball, at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show.
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 Season 10 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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