Brown Nearly Cycles in 13-6 Win Thursday

WICHITA, KANSAS -- Canyon Brown led all hitters with three knocks and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (5-10, 34-58) 13-6 win over the Wichita Wind Surge (3-12, 28-54) at Equity Bank Park in Wichita, KS, Thursday. The two teams continue their series Friday with a 7:05 PM CT first pitch.

The Naturals got off to a fast start in the opening frame, scoring three times to take the early lead. They didn't let up there, plating an additional run in the second when Brown went deep for the fourth time this season to make it 4-0.

The Wind Surge narrowed the Nats lead after Jay Thomason homered off Hunter Patteson (4-4) in the third, but Brown and the Naturals answered the bell in the fourth when the righty smacked an RBI double to right to make it a four-run game again. Carson Roccaforte came up with two on and one out later in the frame, hammering his 17th homer of the year 446 feet to right, extending the NWA advantage to 8-1 and Sam Kulasingam hit a solo shot, his seventh of the season, two hitters later to make it 9-1.

Wichita scored again in the fifth to make it 9-2, but the Naturals plated two more in the top of the sixth while Brown picked up a single, his final hit of the day, and eventually scored on an errant catch at home.

The Wind Surge clawed back two more runs in the sixth while NWA brought home a pair in the ninth, one of which came off Jorge Alfaro's first triple of the year, and while the Surge plated two more in the bottom of the frame, the Naturals went on to win 13-6.

The Naturals and Wind Surge continue their six-game series ahead of next week's All-Star break with a 7:05 PM CT first pitch on Friday. Fans can catch all the action with the Naturals' radio broadcast and the "Voice of the Naturals", Shawn Murnin, on the MiLB App and www.nwanaturals.com.