Whit Merrifield’s two-run home run in the sixth inning and solid pitching combined to give the Northwest Arkansas Naturals a 4-3 victory over the Tulsa Drillers on Thursday night at Oneok Field in Tulsa.
With the game tied at 2-2, Merrifield hit his second home run of the season to left field, giving the Naturals a 4-2 lead. Tulsa got a run back in the bottom half of the inning on a Kent Matthes double, but the Naturals were able to get out of that inning as well as the eighth without allowing the tying run to score.
Tulsa scored the first run of the game on Kiel Roling’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. Merrifield tied the game with a squeeze bunt in the third inning, scoring Rey Navarro. The Naturals took the lead later in the inning on a two-out single by Brian Fletcher before the Drillers tied the game on a Roling double in the bottom of the third.
Brooks Pounders earned his second victory of the season, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts in 6 innings. Zach Jackson picked up his sixth save of the year, holding the Drillers scoreless while allowing one hit with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings.
THURSDAY’S GAMES NW Arkansas 4, Tulsa 3 Arkansas 14, Springfield 5 Frisco 2, Corpus Christi 0 Midland 4, San Antonio 2 TODAY’S GAMES All times Central San Antonio at Midland, 7 p.m.
Corpus Christi at Frisco, 7:05 p.m.
NW Arkansas at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
Arkansas at Springfield, 7:09 p.m.
Sports, Pages 17 on 06/21/2013