SPRINGDALE -- The Tulsa Drillers were swept the last time they visited Northwest Arkansas.
Not this time.
Tulsa took three out of four capped by Sunday's 9-2 win over the Naturals with 3,147 looking on at Arvest Ballpark.
Tulsa (50-43 overall, 13-11 second half) lost all three games two months ago in Springdale but completed the series win this time with wins on Saturday and Sunday.
The Drillers jumped on Naturals starter Ofreidy Gomez quickly with the first four batters of the game reaching with Drew Avans walking and Angelo Mora, Christian Santana, and Cody Thomas all rapping out singles for a 2-0 lead.
Santana doubled home Logan Landon, who had singled, and Mora, who had walked, for a 4-0 lead in the top of the second.
The Naturals scored an unearned run in the bottom of the second, and Nick Heath blasted a solo homer to lead off the third inning that cut the lead in half.
Tulsa answered with three runs in the fifth inning on Landon's run-scoring single and a two-run double by Avans.
The Naturals loaded the bases with just one out in the seventh, but failed to score.
Tulsa added two runs on four hits in the ninth.
Everybody in Tulsa's lineup had hits, including Avans and Santana with three each. Thomas, Errol Robinson, Jared Walker and Landon had two hits apiece.
"Every time they swung the bat it was a hit," said Northwest Arkansas Manager Darryl Kennedy. "It was one of those days when they couldn't anything wrong and we couldn't do anything right. You have those days."
Today's travel day is the first day off for the Naturals (41-50, 10-13) after 18 straight days of games.
"The good thing is tomorrow is a day off," Kennedy said. "I think it's needed right now for the guys mentally to re-group to enjoy themselves and sit back and relax for 12 hours on a bus and then start again on Tuesday at Corpus."
SHORT HOPS
• The Drillers won just their sixth road series of the season and first in a month.
• Sunday's win by Tulsa also trimmed the Naturals leads in the all-time series between the two teams to just 175-173.
• The game included two showers and one actual delay of 22 minutes, which started one out and one on in the top of the seventh inning.
On Deck: Today is a designated travel day across the Texas League, and the Naturals will load the bus to south Texas to begin a three-game series at Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Right-hander Jackson Kowar (1-2, 1.61) earns the start for Northwest Arkansas while Corpus Christi will go with Chad Donato (1-0, 2.79). First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
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Sports on 07/15/2019