Northwest Arkansas’ bats came alive just in the nick of time Friday night.
The Naturals scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Midland RockHounds 7-3 in front of 5,116 at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
The victory gave Northwest Arkansas a three-game sweep of the RockHounds, their first of the season.
The Naturals trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom half of the eighth, but that’s when things fell apart for Midland reliever Mike DeMark (1-2), who gave up all five earned runs. DeMark came into the game with three saves and a 1.67 ERA.
Brian Fletcher and Matt Fields opened the inning with singles, and Cheslor Cuthbert was hit by a pitchto load the bases with no outs. Rey Navarro followed with a single to center field to drive in Fletcher and tie the game at 3-3, and Manny Pina’s soft groundout to DeMark brought in YemPrades, who had come on as a pinch-runner for Fields.
DeMark intentionally walked Mitch Canham to load the bases again, and Whit Merrifield made the RockHounds pay for it with a three-run double to right field for a 7-3 lead.
Naturals reliever Zach Jackson (1-0) gave up a leadoff single to Chad Oberacker to lead off the top of the ninth, but Jackson retired Tyler Ladendork, Beau Taylor and Conner Crumbliss to end the game for the Naturals victory.
Today’s game
FRISCO AT NW ARKANSAS WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE Arvest Ballpark in Springdale RADIO KQSM-FM, 92.1, in Fayetteville WEBSITE nwanaturals.com PITCHERS Naturals: Jason Adam (RHP, 3-8 5.83 ERA); Roughriders: Neil Ramirez (RHP, 9-2, 2.89) TICKETS $12 super premium, $10 premium, $8 reserved, $6 grass berm PROMOTIONS “The Catch” Statue giveaway. First 2,000 fans receive “TheCatch” statue commemorating the best catch in Arvest Ballpark history by Nick Van Stratten in 2011.
THE WEEK AHEAD TODAY Frisco, 7 p.m.
SUNDAY Frisco, 6 p.m.
MONDAY Frisco, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY Off WEDNESDAY at Midland, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY at Midland. 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY at Midland, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 19 on 06/29/2013