SINGER'S QUALITY START SPOILED IN WALK-OFF LOSS

AMARILLO, Texas - Royals' No. 1 prospect, Brady Singer , pitched like it on Monday night at Hodetown. The 22-year old authored his third straight quality start going six innings and protecting the Naturals' lead. But Amarillo pulled it out late, erasing a two-run deficit in the ninth and a three-run deficit in the 11^th to beat Northwest Arkansas, 9-8 in 11 innings.
 
Singer kept Amarillo off balance throughout the first five innings. He struck out five of the first nine hitters faced and fanned seven altogether, marking the fourth straight outing with six-plus strikeouts. The lone blemish came following a fielding error where he allowed a two-run homer in the sixth inning. He retired the final two batters to keep it a quality start.
 
Singer's final line read six innings, four hits, two runs - one earned - two walks and seven strikeouts. He's now thrown four quality starts since joining Northwest Arkansas and owns a 2.61 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star Break with 32 strikeouts over 31.0 innings.

Anderson Miller gave the Naturals' the initial 2-0 lead in the second inning off starter, Nick Margevicius . Miller cranked a two-run homer to deep rightfield, his fourth of the year and second in the month of July. Taylor Featherston added to the lead, driving in Emmanuel Rivera from first with a double off the left-centerfield wall to give Northwest Arkansas 3-0 lead.
 
After Amarillo cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning, DJ Burt brought home Miller from third base who led the inning off with a walk and moved to third on a double by Nick Hutchins , extending the lead to 4-2.
 
Relievers, Emilio Ogando and Franco Terrero pitched a scoreless seventh and a perfect eighth inning before Amarillo came back in the ninth inning off Tyler Zuber . With the bases loaded, down to their final strike, a two-run single tied the score and sent the game to extra innings.
 
The score remained tied, this time, at 5-5 after 10 innings when the Naturals' erupted for three runs in the 11^th to lead 8-5. Nick Heath pinch-ran as the runner on second and scored on a ripped double by Rivera, his second double of the game and his fourth hit in the contest, to give Northwest Arkansas the lead. Featherston brought home Rivera from second base with a single and took second on the throw the plate. He moved to third after an error by Amarillo and scored on a safety squeeze by Hutchins to secure an 8-5 lead.
 
But Amarillo - in-front of the organization's 19^th consecutive sell-out crowd - stormed back again. After cutting the deficit to 8-6 off reliever, Holden Capps (0-1, 9.00 ERA), two runners were on for a walk-off, three-run, two-out homer to end the night in difficult fashion for the Naturals.
 
Rivera's four hits marked his second four-hit game of the season and his two doubles are the first recording of the season, giving him 14 on the year. Featherston drove in two more runs in the contest and finished with 10 RBIs in the four-game series with a total of six hits, three homers and two doubles, overall.
 
Northwest Arkansas (43-55/12-18) finished the road-trip 2-5 and will head back to Springdale, Ark. to begin a seven-game homestand at Arvest Ballpark on Wednesday, July 24, following Tuesday's off-day.
 
Right-hander, Gerson Garabito (5-6, 3.88 ERA) will start the series opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros). The visiting team has not announced its starter.
 
Join the "Voice of the Naturals," Benjamin Kelly on 92.1-FM, the Ticket and the Naturals Radio Network for a 6:45 Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday, July 24.
 
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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