LATE RALLY STALLS AS NATURALS DROP OPENER

SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas scored a run in the ninth but the rally would stall as the Naturals (40-48/9-11) left the bases loaded as they drop the opener to the Tulsa Drillers (48-42/11-10) by a 5-2 final at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday night.
Trailing 5-1, the Naturals made some noise against Drillers reliever Jordan Sheffield in their last at bat. Khalil Lee led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Emmanuel Rivera . After a fly out, Taylor Featherston drove home Lee with a single back up the middle to cut the deficit to three runs and put runners at the corners. Kort Peterson followed with a walk but Sheffield got pinch-hitter Gabriel Cancel to strikeout and Angelo Castellano to fly out to left field to end the threat.

Tulsa took a 1-0 lead in the second against Brady Singer (L, 2-1) as Drew Avans drove in Christian Santana, whom had doubled to begin the inning. Northwest Arkansas would tie the game in the third on a RBI single by Lee, which knocked in Nick Heath .
The Drillers added a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly before tallying another in the sixth on a solo homer by Cody Thomas .
Singer tossed 7.0 innings of three-run baseball in his first outing since a scoreless appearance at the MLB Futures Game on Sunday. He scattered eight hits, walked two and struck out seven while posting a quality start in his first Double-A defeat.
Leading 3-1, Tulsa would use some two-out offense against reliever Andres Sotillet out of the Northwest Arkansas bullpen as Avans continued his productive night at the plate with a two-out, two-run double to give the visitors the 5-1 advantage.
Both teams would collect double-digit hits as the Drillers had 12 hits compared to 10 for the Naturals. The top of the Northwest Arkansas order shined as Heath, D.J. Burt , and Lee combined to go 7-for-10 with two walks, two runs, and an RBI in the contest.
Logan Bawcom (W, 1-0) earned the win in relief of Victor Gonzalez after the Tulsa lefty logged the first 1.2 innings of the game.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their 4-game homestand with Game 2 of this 4-game set against the Tulsa Drillers (Double-A Los Angeles Dodgers) tomorrow night - Friday, July 12^th - at Arvest Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. and it's a Fireworks Friday presented by Farm Rich. The Naturals will send right-hander Gerson Garabito (4-6, 4.38 ERA) to the mound while the Drillers will counter with veteran right-hander Justin De Fratus (5-4, 4.50 ERA). Catch all of the play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show.
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-