Sam Kulasingam sent the final swing of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ season toward the center-field wall, watched Eduardo Quintero run out of room and gave his teammates one last reason to spill out of the dugout.
Kulasingam’s walk-off single scored Connor Rasmussen in the bottom of the ninth, answering Quintero’s game-tying home run and lifting the Naturals to a 5-4 victory over the Tulsa Drillers on Sunday at Arvest Ballpark.
Rasmussen had entered as a pinch runner after Angel Acosta opened the inning with a walk. Ricson Gonzalez’s sacrifice bunt moved him to second, and Tulsa intentionally walked Luke Pelzer before Kulasingam drove Christian Suarez’s offering deep to center. The ball reached the warning track and kicked off the wall as Rasmussen came home.
It was Kulasingam’s only hit in five at-bats, but it supplied the defining image of a finale that manager Brooks Conrad had contemplated before the first pitch.
“Yeah, last game of the year. It seems like it’s come and gone before we even knew what happened, really.”
— Brooks Conrad, Naturals Manager
Northwest Arkansas needed the last of its 11 hits because a two-run cushion disappeared in the top of the ninth. Jose Izarra walked against Dennis Colleran Jr., and after Charles Davalan lined out, Quintero lifted a fly ball toward right-center. Alberto Rodriguez retreated to the track and measured it at the wall, but the ball carried out for Quintero’s first listed home run and a 4-4 tie.
Colleran finished the inning and earned the win despite allowing two earned runs and being charged with his third blown save.
The Naturals had built their advantage through a balanced attack. Daniel Vazquez doubled and scored on Rodriguez’s line-drive single through the right side in the second, answering the run Tulsa scored in the first.
Jake Gelof restored the Drillers’ lead in the fourth when he launched a breaking ball over the left-field wall. Northwest Arkansas responded again in the bottom half. Vazquez singled, moved to third on Connor Scott’s flyout and scored on Justin Johnson’s sacrifice fly. Rodriguez followed with a triple, then raced home when Acosta chopped a slow grounder past the mound. Shortstop Elijah Hainline tried a barehanded play, but Acosta beat the throw as his helmet came loose, giving the Naturals their first lead at 3-2.
That margin held through the seventh. Ethan Bosacker allowed one earned run and struck out three over three innings, while Shane Panzini contributed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Caden Monke worked around a walk and a hit batter in the eighth by striking out each of the three batters he retired.
Northwest Arkansas added what appeared to be a decisive insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Spencer Nivens doubled to center and, after two outs, Johnson ripped a sharp drive into right-center. The ball bounced off the warning track and reached the wall, sending Nivens home while Johnson pulled into second and the Naturals’ dugout celebrated.
Johnson doubled and drove in two runs in the finale, giving the game a fitting connection to the individual improvement Conrad saw during the second half.
“Obviously, this year, he really struggled offensively to start the year, but really, you know, made some good adjustments and turned it around the second half. He’s done an amazing job.”
— Brooks Conrad, Naturals Manager
Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and a stolen base. Their production helped Northwest Arkansas answer each of Tulsa’s first two leads before Kulasingam supplied the final response.
The season ended not with Quintero circling the bases in the top of the ninth, but with Rasmussen crossing the plate and Kulasingam being met by a mob. For Conrad, who emphasized development even as the wins proved difficult to collect, the finish offered a bridge to another season in Northwest Arkansas.
“I’m excited to come back and be here back again next year in Northwest.”
— Brooks Conrad, Naturals Manager