NATURALS RALLY FOR THRILLING WIN
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas trailed Springfield by a 6-0 score after two and a half innings but the Naturals (2-0) would ultimately rally for a thrilling 8-7 win over the Cardinals (0-2) on Friday night in front of a crowd of 5,076 at Arvest Ballpark. The come-from-behind victory gives
SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas trailed Springfield by a 6-0 score after two and a half innings but the Naturals (2-0) would ultimately rally for a thrilling 8-7 win over the Cardinals (0-2) on Friday night in front of a crowd of 5,076 at Arvest Ballpark. The come-from-behind victory gives the Naturals' franchise their first-ever 2-0 start to a Texas League season.
After falling behind by a 7-1 tally in the fifth on a RBI double by
Northwest Arkansas would eventually tie the game at 7-7 in the home half of the seventh. Lee doubled for his third hit of the game and scored on another Duenez RBI single before
The comeback would be complete in the eighth on some brilliant small ball by the Naturals.
Reliever
Earlier in the game, Springfield seemingly broke things open with a six-run top of the third. They took advantage of a two-out error by Northwest Arkansas to score six unearned runs in a frame, which was capped by a Grand Slam by
In the home half, the Naturals would begin to chip away at the deficit. Miller collected a one-out single and then advanced to second on a stolen base before Heath brought him home with a two-out RBI single to make it a 6-1 game at the time.
The Naturals out-hit the Cardinals for the second consecutive game. With eleven hits on Friday, Northwest Arkansas now has 20 hits for the season. Lee led the way with three more knocks while Duenez and Miller each had two hits in the thrilling victory.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their opening 7-game homestand with Game 3 of this 4-game set against the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A St. Louis) tomorrow night - Saturday, April 6 - with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Saturday's game is presented by TCBY and features an Arvest Ballpark Calendar Giveaway plus a Bullpen Craft Beer Bar Happy Hour from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Right-hander
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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