White handcuffs Naturals in blowout

TULSA 14, NW ARKANSAS 3

SPRINGDALE — Tulsa homered four times and received a solid start from top pitching prospect Mitchell White en route to a 14-3 in against Northwest Arkansas at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday.

White, a right-hander and Minor League Baseball’s No. 69 ranked prospect overall by Baseball America, effectively mixed in offspeed pitches with a fastball that still was touching 95 miles per hour through the end of six scoreless innings. The Naturals finally scratched for a run in the seventh with Corey Toups driving in Kelvin Gutierrez on a fielder’s choice to end White’s shutout bid.

Meanwhile, the Drillers provided White with plenty of offensive support early, including a six-run fourth inning. It began with a two-run single by Tyler Goeddel and a two-run double Errol Robinson before Luke Raley cap it off by drilling a two-run homer over the center field to spot the Drillers a 9-0 lead.

Naturals starter Emilio Ogando loaded the bases with no outs after yielding a pair of walks and a single to open the game. He allowed just one run on a wild pitch by striking out the next three batters in order.

However, Ogando left a couple of fastballs up in the zone that resulted in backto-back homers by Drew Jackson and Keibert Ruiz to extend the Drillers’ lead to 3-0 in the second inning.

Tulsa went on to pound out 16 hits and plated runs in six of nine innings, including five of the first six. Ruiz had three hits, including two of Tulsa’s four homers and a double, while Yusniel Diaz was 4 for 5 with two doubles.

SHORT HOPS

■ The lone bright spot for the Naturals was Gutierrez, who had his second consecutive two-hit game after suffering through a 1-for-16 slump during a six-game road trip before this week’s series.

■ Ogando continued his struggles at Arvest Ballpark, falling to 1-5 in eight home starts. The lefty is 3-1 in eight starts on the road.

■ With the score out of hand late, the Naturals used a pair of position players as relief pitchers. Infielder John Brontsema pitched twothirds of an inning and first baseman Alex Liddi pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout.

On Deck: The Naturals play Game 3 of their fourgame home series against

Tulsa at 7:05 p.m. today. Northwest Arkansas will send right-hander Scott Blewett (4-5, 5.48) to the mound while the Drillers counter with right-hander Andrew Sopka (3-0, 3.67).

Today’s Promotion: The first 500 kids in attendance will receive Paw Patrol Mini Figure Figurines packs. There also will be a special appearance by Marshall of Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol as well as fireworks after the game.

On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1

On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com