TEXAS LEAGUE: Shepherd’s hit beats Naturals

A stable of six pitchers did all they could against the Tulsa Drillers on Sunday afternoon.

Led by starter Sugar Ray Marimon, none of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ six pitchers threw more than two innings, but combined to give up only three hits. Problem was, the last hit was Jaron Shepherd’s single to left field that scored Angelys Nina and gave the Tulsa Drillers a 1-0 victory in 10 innings at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.

The loss prevented the Naturals from winning consecutive series for the first time this season and sends them into Tuesday’s Texas League All-Star game tied with the Arkansas Travelers for second-place in the North Division after the first week of the season’s second-half.

The Naturals could have had another victory had they generated a bit more offenseSunday. The Naturals outhit the Drillers 6-3, but other than Rey Navarro’s home run to lead off the fifth inning, only got a runner past first base once, on Mitch Canham’s sixth-inning double.

The Naturals went down in order in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings as Tulsa starter Christian Bergman and reliever Dan Houston, who earned the victory, retired the final 10 batters they saw.

Sports, Pages 19 on 06/24/2013

Upcoming Events