SPRINGDALE, AR – Carson Roccaforte connected on a walk-off grand slam to give the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (25-30) a 9-6 win over the Midland RockHounds (29-27) on Sunday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark. The game was a resumption from the previous night, and the originally scheduled game for Sunday was canceled due to rain. The Naturals begin a six-game series in North Little Rock, Arkansas, against the Travelers on Tuesday at 6:35 PM CT.
Spencer Nivens got the Nats on the board with a sacrifice fly to plate Sam Kulasingam. NWA took the 1-0 lead on Saturday night, and the game was suspended in the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and two outs for Midland. When the game was resumed Sunday afternoon, the RockHounds scored five in the fifth and took a 5-1 advantage.
Alberto Rodriguez and Jack Pineda each connected on RBI singles in the bottom of the frame, and Rudy Martin Jr.’s solo shot in the seventh made it a one-run deficit for the Nats. The first four Naturals reached in the ninth, and Roccaforte cleaned the bases with a walk-off grand slam into the right-field berm. Roccaforte’s 14th homer of the season gave the club a thrilling 9-6 win.
The second game on Sunday made it through two innings before rain started picking up again in Springdale, and the contest was canceled. The Naturals picked up the series win over Midland after taking three games this week.
Northwest Arkansas hits the road to start a six-game series against the Arkansas Travelers on Tuesday, with first pitch at 6:35 PM CT. Fans can follow along by listening to the radio call with the "Voice of the Naturals", Shawn Murnin, all season long on the MiLB app and NWANaturals.com.