NATURALS DROP SERIES OPENER TO ROCKHOUNDS

SPRINGDALE, Ark - Despite the big night from outfielder Elier Hernandez , the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (23-25) drop the series opener to the Midland RockHounds (24-24) by an 11-3 final on Friday night in front of a crowd of 5,863 at Arvest Ballpark.
Midland threw the first punch of the series opener and never looked back. J.P. Sportman singled to right and moved to third on a single by Tyler Ramirez before Sean Murphy delivered a sacrifice fly to center field for the early 1-0 advantage after an inning.
The RockHounds extended their lead with three more runs in the third. Sportman singled to start the inning and scored on a triple by Ramirez, whom would score on a throwing error by the Naturals. After a double by Eli White and a single by Richie Martin put runners at the corners, an errant throw by catcher Nick Dini on a steal attempt brought in the run to make it 4-0.

Northwest Arkansas would crack the scoreboard in the fourth on a solo homer by Hernandez, which was his second of the year.
The visitors from Texas would break it open the fifth and seventh innings. In the fifth, Midland would plate three more runs on a two-run triple by White and a sacrifice fly by Martin. After the Naturals got a run back in the sixth on a RBI single by Corey Toups , the RockHounds would add two more on a White single and Tyler Marincov RBI double to take a commanding 9-2 lead.
The Naturals would scratch across one more run in the bottom half of the seventh as Hernandez delivered an RBI single. The right fielder led Northwest Arkansas by going 3-fo-4 with a homer, two runs and two RBI to give him 25 on the year for best on the team. Before the end, the RockHounds would to tack on a run in the eighth and another in the ninth to set the final score.
Young Midland left-hander Jesus Luzardo (W, 2-1) earned his second Double-A win after tossing 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. Meanwhile, Naturals' starter Foster Griffin (L, 2-5) took the loss after allowing a season-high nine runs, eight earned, on 16 hits.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their Memorial Day weekend series against the Midland RockHounds, the Double-A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, tomorrow night - Saturday, May 26 - with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Gates will open at 4:35 p.m. for a Naturals Dri-Fit T-Shirt Giveaway by Gorilla Glue and a Bullpen Craft Beer Bar Happy Hour from 4:35 p.m. until 5:35 p.m. The Naturals will turn to RHP Zach Lovvorn (2-3, 5.87 ERA) while the RockHounds will counter with the veteran RHP Ben Bracewell (3-4, 3.06 ERA). Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket starting at 5:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch against the Double-A Athletics.
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-