Tulsa Drillers keep Natural reeling

SPRINGDALE -- The Tulsa Drillers just kept on rolling Friday night at Arvest Ballpark.

Jharel Cotton allowed one run over seven innings and his teammates supported him with 10 hits as the Drillers remained undefeated in the second half with a 5-1 win over Northwest Arkansas.

Tulsa 5, Northwest Arkansas 1

Tulsa^100^300^010^—^5^10^1

Northwest Arkansas^000^001^000^—^1^6^1

Tulsa^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG

Torreyes, SS^4^1^1^0^1^0^1^.244

Lavin, CF^5^0^1^0^0^1^0^.214

Drake, RF^3^1^0^1^1^1^0^.278

Anderson, La, 1B^4^1^3^0^0^0^1^.254

Cunningham, 3B^3^1^1^2^1^1^2^.239

Zarraga, DH^3^1^3^1^1^0^0^.282

Law, 2B^4^0^0^0^0^1^6^.246

Rathjen, LF^4^0^0^0^0^1^5^.186

Solis, C^4^0^1^1^0^0^4^.140

Totals^34^5^10^5^4^5^19^

BATTING

2B: Anderson, La 2 (17), Solis (3). HR: Cunningham (5). TB: Solis 2; Anderson, La 5; Zarraga 3; Cunningham 4; Lavin; Torreyes. RBI: Drake (23), Cunningham 2 (12), Solis (9), Zarraga (8). SF: Drake. GIDP: Law. RISP: 3-for-10. LOB: 7. CS: Torreyes (2, 2nd base by Binford/Evans). E: Torreyes (1, throw).nOutfield assists: Drake (Gore at home). DP: (Torreyes-Law-Anderson, La).

NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG

Adams, L, LF^4^0^0^0^0^1^2^.266

Starling, CF^4^1^2^0^0^0^0^.231

Bonifacio, J, RF^3^0^1^0^1^1^1^.240

Fuenmayor, 1B^4^0^1^1^0^0^1^.344

Dozier, 3B^4^0^1^0^0^1^2^.208

Liddi, 2B^4^0^0^0^0^2^1^.283

Evans, C^3^0^0^0^0^1^1^.271

Diekroeger, SS^3^0^0^0^0^0^1^.271

Gore, DH^2^0^1^0^1^0^0^.265

Totals^31^1^6^1^2^6^9^

BATTING

TB: Gore; Dozier; Bonifacio, J; Starling 2; Fuenmayor. RBI: Fuenmayor (48). GIDP: Adams, L. RISP: 2-for-6. LOB: 5. SB: Gore (27). CS: Starling (2). E: Adams, L (3, fielding). DP: (Diekroeger-Liddi-Fuenmayor).

Tulsa^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA

Cotton (W, 1-0)^7.0^6^1^1^2^4^0^1.38

De Leon, Jor^1.0^0^0^0^0^0^0^3.65

Cash^1.0^0^0^0^0^2^0^2.97

NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA

Binford (L, 2-3)^6.0^8^4^4^2^3^1^5.24

Williams, A^1.0^2^1^1^2^0^0^7.04

Pruneda^2.0^0^0^0^0^2^0^4.50

Williams, A pitched to 4 batters in the 8th.

WP: Williams, A.

Umpires: HP: Jake Wilburn. 1B: Scott Costello. 3B: Mike Cascioppo.

T: 2:24. Att: 4,805.

Tulsa improved to 4-0 and Northwest Arkansas, which won the first-half North Division title, dropped to 0-4.

Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said his team has to work through a rough stretch, especially offensively. The Naturals have lost eight of their last nine.

"I'm smart enough to know the All-Star break is two days away," Wilson said. "It's been a long first half, a lot of hard work. But I won't put up with us not competing.

"This is the grind, the mental part of the game our guys have to learn. You're not always going to execute, but our intent has been a little off. But again, that's why we're in Double-A."

The Drillers jumped in front in the top of the first as Ronald Torreyes led off with a single, went to third on Peter Lavin's single and scored on Yadir Drake's sacrifice fly.

Tulsa added three more in the fourth thanks to a two-run home run by Jarek Cunningham and a two-out RBI double by catcher Ali Solis for a 4-0 lead.

Tulsa manager Razor Shines was pleased with Cotton (1-0), who was making his second Double-A start. The 23-year-old broke his wrist in spring training, but has looked good in both appearances for the Drillers. He scattered six hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking two.

"He's a kid we expected a lot from," Shines said. "We expected him to start the season with us, but he was injured in spring training. Man is he going. We're so happy to have him. That was his second start and they've both been pretty good. He's a kid that's not going to rattle much. He's had some adversity in his life before. He's going to fight.

Short Hops:

• Naturals reliever Benino Pruneda worked out of a bases-loaded, nobody out situation without Tulsa scoring in the eighth inning. The right-hander got a fielder's choice groundout, a strikeout and another groundout to end the threat.

• Northwest Arkansas first baseman Balbino Fuenmayor accounted for the Naturals' lone run with a two-out, RBI single in the sixth inning. He drove in his 48th run of the season, which ranks second in the Texas League.

Extra Bases: Naturals outfielder Terrance Gore stole his 27th base of the season, which leads the league. ... Gore was thrown out at the plate by Drake while trying to score from second on Bubba Starling's single in the sixth inning. ... Drillers designated hitter Shawn Zarraga went 3-for-3, drove in a run and scored a run.

On Deck:RHP Luke Farrell (1-2, 5.18 ERA) will get the start on the mound for the Naturals in the third game of the series, while Tulsa will counter with RHP Jose DeLeon (2-2, 4.24 ERA) for the 6:05 p.m. scheduled start.

Today's Promotion: The first 2,000 fans to come through the gates will receive a Naturals' replica batting helmet ... There will be a free baseball clinic for children ages 6-12 from 2-3:45 p.m. at Arvest Ballpark, which includes an autograph session at the end of the camp. The first 500 camp participants also receive a a free berm ticket to the game. ... It's also Scout Night as scout groups may purchase discounted tickets and will be able to enjoy a post-game movie and also be able to camp out overnight in the outfield grass area.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com

Sports on 06/27/2015

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