SPRINGDALE -- Yender Caramo allowed three straight singles to start Thursday night's game, but Northwest Arkansas' starting pitcher managed to get within a strike of getting out of the inning with minimal damage.
Cody Bellinger, however, found that strike to be too good to resist. Tulsa's first baseman then extended the inning when he jumped on a pitch and turned it into three-run home run, and the Drillers went on to post a 5-3 victory over the Naturals to start a four-game series at Arvest Ballpark.
Tulsa 5, Northwest Arkansas 3
Tulsa^400^001^000^—^5^12^2
NW Arkansas^000^000^003^—^3^6^0
Tulsa^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Locastro, SS^5^1^1^0^0^1^1^.307
Calhoun, 2B^4^1^1^0^1^1^1^.255
Farmer, C^5^1^2^1^0^2^1^.309
Verdugo, CF^4^0^2^0^1^1^4^.284
Garlick, DH^4^0^0^0^0^2^5^.275
Bellinger, 1B^4^1^1^3^0^0^2^.257
Scavuzzo, LF^4^0^2^0^0^0^1^.272
Rios, 3B^4^1^2^1^0^1^3^.250
Curletta, RF^4^0^1^0^0^1^1^.143
Totals^38^5^12^5^2^9^19^
2B: Curletta (1). HR: Bellinger (15); Rios (2). RBI: Farmer (24); Bellinger 3 (46); Rios (2). Team RISP: 2-for-8. Team LOB: 8. E: Calhoun (17); Rios (2).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Toups, 2B^5^0^0^0^0^1^3^.291
Escalera, RF^5^0^0^0^0^2^4^.222
Ramos, M, 3B^5^0^0^0^0^4^4^.266
O’Hearn, 1B^5^0^0^0^0^1^2^.261
Gallagher, C^3^0^2^0^1^0^0^.276
Evans, DH^4^1^0^0^0^2^4^.201
Garcia, C, LF^4^1^3^0^0^0^2^.247
Arteaga, SS^4^1^1^1^0^2^6^.153
Gore, CF^1^0^0^0^2^0^0^.241
Totals^36^3^6^1^3^12^25^
2B: Garcia, C (7). RBI: Arteaga (4). Team RISP: 2-for-14. Team LOB: 10. SB: Gore (34). DP: 1 (Arteaga-O’Hearn).
Tulsa^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Barlow^5.0^3^0^0^2^7^0^3.75
Schafer, J^1.0^1^0^0^0^3^0^3.08
Sborz^1.0^0^0^0^0^1^0^0.00
Corcino^1.0^2^3^1^1^0^0^4.30
Broussard^1.0^0^0^0^0^1^0^2.23
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Caramo^5.0^8^4^4^1^5^1^2.81
Hill^2.0^2^1^1^0^2^1^3.48
Nina^2.0^2^0^0^1^2^0^1.74
Corcino pitched to 4 batters in the 9th. Hill pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
WP: Barlow; Schafer, J 2; Corcino; Nina. HBP: Gore (by Barlow).
Pitches-strikes: Barlow 89-55; Schafer, J 18-13; Sborz 11-8; Corcino 28-16; Broussard 11-11; Caramo 82-59; Hill 36-27; Nina 42-22.
Umpires: HP: Malachi Moore. 1B: Derek Eaton. 3B: Sean Allen.
T: 3:05. Att: 4,159
Tom Locastro, Willie Calhoun and Kyle Farmer each delivered singles to left field to give Tulsa (56-54, 19-22) a 1-0 lead, but Caramo (2-6) retired the next two batters. The right-hander then had a 2-2 count before Bellinger turned on the next pitch and belted his 15th home run of the season over the Naturals' bullpen in right field.
"It was a curve ball, and that guy is a really good hitter," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said. "They have some really good players over there -- some good prospects with a lot of power.
"Caramo had been pitching great, but he made that mistake. It turned out to be the game."
That was enough for Tulsa starter Scott Barlow, who combined with three relievers to limit Northwest Arkansas (50-61, 21-20 second half) to just four hits through the first eight innings. The Naturals, however, made things interesting in the ninth and were helped out by two Drillers errors.
Zane Evans led off by reaching on an error, then took third on a double by Carlos Garcia and later scored when Humberto Arteaga dropped a single into shallow right field. A wild pitch allowed Garcia to score, then Arteaga scored on Tulsa's second error.
Tulsa reliever Joe Broussard, however, stopped Northwest Arkansas' comeback attempt when he retired the next three batters.
"You can't wait until the ninth inning to get things going," Wilson said. "Obviously, their closer Broussard has been throwing really good. We were non-competitive early, and we can't have that many non-competitive at-bats."
Short Hops
• Garcia and Cam Gallagher provided most of the Naturals' offensive punch. Garcia had three of Northwest Arkansas' six hits, while Gallagher added two more.
• Caramo bounced back from his shaky start and allowed only three more hits over the next four innings.
• Edwin Rios provided Tulsa with its only other run when he hit a solo home run in the sixth off Naturals reliever Tim Hill.
On Deck: Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa continue their four-games series with a 7:05 p.m. game today at Arvest Ballpark. Right-hander Ashton Goudeau (4-10, 4.77) takes the mound for the Naturals, while the Drillers will counter with righty Alfredo Figaro (0-0, 6.75).
Today's Promotion: The Olympic Games will be honored with a fun-filled night, as well as the usual Friday fireworks show. There will also be an appearance by Marshall of the Nickelodeon kids show "Paw Patrol," and he will interact with fans and pose for pictures.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 08/05/2016