Vance Wilson’s walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth gave the Naturals the 2-1 victory

Frisco collected only five hits as the Naturals avoided the sweep with a walk-off 2-1 victory on Monday. RoughRiders’ reliever Thomas Diamond gave up a ninth inning solo home run to Vance Wilson to break the 1-1 tie and snap a three-game losing streak for NW Arkansas.

The game was deadlocked at zero through the first six innings as the RoughRiders and Naturals battled in a pitching duel between starters Michael Ballard and Anthony Lerew. NW Arkansas scored a run in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Kurt Mertins to plate Corey Smith and give the Naturals the 1-0 lead. The score would stay that way until the ninth inning when, with two outs, Chad Tracy hit a solo homer to tie the game at one. The heroics were short-lived for Frisco as Vance Wilson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for NW Arkansas to give the Naturals the walk-off victory.

Ballard allowed just one run on seven hits over 7.1 innings, striking out one, but didn’t factor into the decision. Frisco reliever Thomas Diamond (0-3) gave up the ninth-inning home run to take the loss. Naturals’ reliever Juan Abreu (2-1) blew the save, but earned the win for NW Arkansas.

Frisco’s offense managed just five hits with Tracy’s home run being the only extra-base hit on the night. Tracy extended his hit streak to 14 games and now leads the Texas League in home runs with 23 on the season. Craig Gentry reached based twice with a single and a walk and recorded his league-leading 45th stolen base.

With Midland losing in Tulsa, the RoughRiders remain three games behind the RockHounds for first-place in the South Division. Frisco will enjoy an off-day Tuesday before beginning a six game homestand on Wednesday against Tulsa with first pitch at 7 p.m. at Dr Pepper Ballpark.