NATURALS WIN TO SET UP WINNER-TAKE-ALL GAME

SPRINGDALE, Ark - It took all nine innings on Monday night but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (35-35) were able to comeback then hold on to a thrilling 11-10 win over the Arkansas Travelers (35-35) at Arvest Ballpark. The victory coupled with Tulsa's loss earlier in the night to Springfield sets up a winner-take-all game between the Naturals and Travs on Tuesday night with the winner securing a trip to the Texas League Playoffs by winning the First Half Title in the Texas League North Division.
Tonight's game marked the end of the First Half of the season. The Naturals and Travelers finished tied at the top of the Texas League North Division so they'll settle it on the field tomorrow night in the first meeting between the two clubs during the Second Half of the season per Texas League rules. Corpus Christi defeated San Antonio to claim the South Division First Half Title by a 12-0 final.

The Travelers scored two runs in the first, two runs in the second and another in the fourth to build an early 5-0 lead.
Northwest Arkansas would begin their comeback in the fourth by way of the long ball. Jecksson Flores started the scoring for the Naturals with a long two-run home run to left before Alex Liddi followed two batters later with a two-run shot over the wall in right.
The Naturals would use another big fly in the fifth, this time a solo homer to right by Donnie Dewees , to tie the game up at 5-5.
The momentum would continue into the sixth for Northwest Arkansas as they'd send ten men to the plate and score five runs on four hits and an Arkansas error. Nate Esposito had a RBI single in the frame while Erick Mejia came through with a huge two-out, bases-clearing triple to right-center before coming into score on an error by the Travs' second baseman for a commanding 10-5 lead.
John Brontsema's run-scoring single in the seventh gave the Naturals 11 unanswered runs, which extended their lead to 11-5.
Arkansas would not go away quietly though as the visitor's from North Little Rock battled back from a six run deficit by scoring two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth. Braden Bishop had an RBI double in the eighth while Joe DeCarlo hit a towering three-run homer over the wall in left to bring the Travs within a run in the ninth at 11-10. Northwest Arkansas would turn to former starter Andres Machado (S, 1) to secure the final out and he did just that by getting Donnie Walton to ground out to Liddi at first for the win.
Reliever Pedro Fernandez (W, 2-2) earned the victory out of the Naturals' bullpen as he limited Arkansas to just a hit through 2.0 scoreless frames. Travelers' reliever Spencer Herrmann (L, 3-4) took the loss after allowing three runs in an inning of work.
Northwest Arkansas will continue their series against the Arkansas Travelers, the Double-A Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, with a winner-take-all game tomorrow night - Tuesday, June 19 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m. for an Arvest Two for Tuesday with Johnsonville Buck-A-Brat at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals will send LHP Emilio Ogando (4-3, 5.79 ERA) to the mound and he'll square off with RHP Johendí Jiminian (3-3, 3.59 ERA) of the Travelers. 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 game on Tuesday night that'll decide the First Half Texas League North Division Title.
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-