NATURALS FALL AS RIDERS CLAIM FINALE

SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas saw their home winning streak come to an end on Thursday night at five in a row as the Naturals (23-24) fall to the Frisco RoughRiders (15-32) in the series finale by a 4-2 final. In the defeat, Naturals' shortstop Nicky Lopez continues to hit at a torrid rate as he collects two more hits to raise his batting average to .339 on the year.
The Naturals raced out to an early lead in the finale riding the momentum of last night's walk-off win. Donnie Dewees got the action started by leading off the game with a double before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Erick Mejia then scoring on a Lopez sacrifice fly to left field for a 1-0 lead. Then in the second, Alex Liddi followed suit with a leadoff double of his own and scored on an errant pick-off throw to second base by Frisco catcher Jose Trevino for the early 2-0 advantage.

The game would remain 2-0 in favor of Northwest Arkansas before Frisco would even things up in the fifth. Michael O'Neill continued his hot series with a double to right and Eliezer Álvarez followed with a walk to put runners at first and second with one out. Trevino would then make up for his throwing miscue with a RBI single to make it a 2-1 game. After a balk by Naturals' starter Andres Machado moved runners to second and third, Hunter Cole lifted a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game at 2-2.
The RoughRiders would finally get the edge in the seventh as O'Neill hit a solo home run, his third of the series, for a 3-2 lead. The visitors would tack on a final run in the ninth on a Josh Morgan run-scoring single to set the final score at 4-2.
Right-hander Richelson Peña (W, 2-3) earned the win for Frisco as he rebounded from the two early runs to hold the Naturals without a run for the remainder of his outing while John Fasola earned the save with 2.0 scoreless frames. On the other side, the tough luck continued for Machado. The Naturals right-hander has given up only four earned runs through three starts but has yet to earn a victory. Newcomer Grant Gavin (L, 0-1), whom was assigned to Northwest Arkansas yesterday, took the loss.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their six-game homestand by welcoming the Midland RockHounds, the Double-A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, to Arvest Ballpark for the series opener tomorrow night - Friday, May 25 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m. for a Fireworks Friday with Strike & Sinker's Mascot Party by Farm Rich. The game will also be the second Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW) Fan Day of the 2018 season where the Naturals, RockHounds and Arvest Ballpark crowd will wave to the patients and their families at ACNW at the completion of the first inning.
The Naturals will give the baseball to LHP Foster Griffin (2-4, 4.21 ERA) while the RockHounds will counter with the young LHP Jesus Luzardo (1-1, 4.13 ERA). Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on AM 1590 - The Ticket 2 starting at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch of the series opener.
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.
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