SPRINGDALE, AR – Hunter Patteson spun his first quality start of the season in the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ (27-35) 6-5, extra-innings loss to the Tulsa Drillers (43-21) on Tuesday night at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals continue their six-game set against the Drillers on Wednesday, with first pitch at 7:05 PM CT.
Northwest Arkansas got off to an early lead with Sam Kulasingam’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. Kulasingam drove a ball to left field that brought Carson Roccaforte home and gave the Nats a 1-0 advantage.
Patteson faced the minimum through four and maintained the 1-0 lead. He allowed two runs in the fifth, and the Nats responded immediately with two in the bottom of the frame.
Roccaforte knocked in Connor Scott with an RBI single, and Canyon Brown scored while Roccaforte was in a rundown between first and second base. The Naturals took a 3-2 lead into the sixth.
Jake Gelof’s 13th homer of the season tied the game at three in the seventh to force extras.
Despite allowing the long ball, Patteson spun his best outing of the season. The southpaw dealt a season-high seven innings and punched out eight batters, also a high for him this year. Patteson didn’t walk a batter in the contest, and picked up the no-decision.
After Tulsa scored three in the top of the 10th, Scott connected on his fifth homer of the year – a two-run shot to make it a one-run contest. Scott’s homer traveled 431 feet to center field. The Naturals weren’t able to even the game back up and fell, 6-5, in the series opener.
The Naturals face off against the Drillers in the second game of the six-game series on Wednesday at 7:05 PM CT. Fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, $5 12 oz. cans of Scarlett Letter and Baseball Bingo. Fans can get their tickets at NWANaturals.com for the remainder of the series.
As always, fans can follow along through the Naturals' TV broadcast, available with a subscription to MLB.tv or the MiLB App and for free through the Bally Live Sports App. Additionally, you can listen to the radio call with the "Voice of the Naturals", Shawn Murnin, all season long on the MiLB app and NWANaturals.com.