SPRINGDALE, AR – Sam Kulasingam’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth finished off the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ (28-41, 57-79) 5-4 win over the Tulsa Drillers (42-27, 88-50) in the season finale on Sunday at Arvest Ballpark.
After Tulsa got the scoring started in the opening frame, the Naturals responded in the second. Alberto Rodriguez knocked in Daniel Vázquez with a single to make it 1-1.
The Drillers took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth, and Northwest Arkansas answered with two runs in the bottom half. Vázquez led off the inning with his second hit in as many trips to the plate. Justin Johnson drove him in with a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Rodriguez tripled to right and Angel Acosta hit an RBI single to give the Nats a 3-2 advantage.
Northwest Arkansas tacked on in the eighth with a run to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Spencer Nivens connected on his team-leading 29th double of the year. Johnson’s two-bagger to right plated Nivens to give NWA some insurance heading into the ninth.
Tulsa tied the game at four in the top of the ninth, forcing a bottom half of the frame. Acosta drew a leadoff walk, Ricson Gonzalez bunted Acosta to second base and Luke Pelzer was intentionally walked. Kulasingam ripped a walk-off single to right-center field to score Connor Rasmussen, who pinch ran for Acosta. Kulasingam reached base for the team-high 20th consecutive contest and collected the club’s 10th walk-off. He gave the Naturals a 5-4 victory in the 2026 season finale.
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