SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas took an early lead against Major League rehabber Collin McHugh, but the Naturals needed a really late rally to claim an 8-7 win over Corpus Christi in a game that included a near two-hour rain delay and ended after midnight Saturday morning.
Nick Dini’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth scored Donnie Dewees Jr. snapped a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Naturals (5-3, 44-34) trailed 7-4 after five innings, but tied it on Dewees’ two-run double in the sixth. They put runners on first and third with nobody out in the eighth, but failed to score.
However, Dewees led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple — his fourth hit of the night. Humberto Arteaga tried a safety squeeze, but bunted it back to the pitcher and Dewees stayed. Corpus Christi reliever Ryan Thompson (0-2) Arteaga out at first. Dini followed with a line drive to center field. Dewees tagged up and slid in just ahead of a strong relay throw.
Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson was proud of his team’s resiliency, after seeing an early 4-2 lead turn into a 7-4 deficit. The effort of reliever Yunior Marte wasn’t lost either, despite struggling when the Hooks scored four runs in the fifth. The right-hander making his Double-A debut bounced back with two scoreless innings.
“That’s the identity we have, we scratch things out,” Wilson said. “We don’t really drive the ball or hit the ball out of the ballpark. We put the ball in play. Really proud of not only that, but the biggest thing for me was after Marte gave up some runs. For him to come back out and do what he did and hold it to three-run game. Those games can very well get blown out.
“We felt we had some issues with the umpire there. We regrouped. We forgot about the umpire and the guys did a great job.”
Northwest Arkansas 8, Corpus Christi 7
Corpus Christi^201^040^000^—^7^14^1
Northwest Arkansas^400^003^001^—^8^15^2
Corpus Christi^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Ferguson, DH^4^3^2^0^1^2^3^.301
Tucker, CF^4^1^2^0^0^2^1^.272
Davis, J, 3B^5^1^2^3^0^1^2^.296
Singleton, 1B^4^0^1^1^0^1^0^.234
Mayfield, SS^5^1^2^0^0^0^3^.305
Stubbs, C^5^1^2^0^0^1^3^.245
Martin, LF^5^0^2^2^0^1^1^.337
Laureano, RF^3^0^1^0^1^1^1^.198
Nunez, A, 2B^3^0^0^0^1^2^1^.283
Totals^38^7^14^6^3^11^15^
2B: Tucker (8, Ray); Laureano (8, Ray); Martin (7, Marte, Y). HR: Davis, J (19, 5th inning off Lovvorn, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Mayfield 2; Martin 3; Ferguson 2; Stubbs 2; Singleton; Davis, J 5; Tucker 3; Laureano 2. RBI: Davis, J 3 (49); Singleton (49); Martin 2 (14). 2-out RBI: Martin 2.Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Nunez, A; Stubbs; Ferguson 2. SF: Singleton. RISP: 2-for-8. LOB: 9.
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Lopez, Jac, 3B^4^2^2^0^0^0^2^.289
Lopez, N, SS^5^0^4^0^0^0^1^.667
Duenez, DH^4^2^2^2^1^0^3^.281
Walters, 1B^4^2^0^0^1^3^6^.167
Miller, RF^4^1^0^0^1^1^8^.111
Escalera, LF^5^0^1^1^0^2^5^.266
Dewees Jr., CF^5^1^4^3^0^0^0^.268
Arteaga, 2B^4^0^1^1^1^0^2^.301
Dini, C^4^0^1^1^0^0^4^.379
Totals^39^8^15^8^4^6^31^
2B: Lopez, N 2 (2, James, Thompson); Duenez (14, James); Dewees Jr. (16, James). 3B: Dewees Jr. (6, Thompson). TB: Lopez, N 6; Arteaga; Dini; Duenez 3; Lopez, Jac 2; Dewees Jr. 7; Escalera. RBI: Duenez 2 (49); Escalera (32); Dewees Jr. 3 (37); Arteaga (22); Dini (8). 2-out RBI: Dewees Jr. 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Miller 3; Lopez, Jac; Escalera. RISP: 5-for-20. LOB: 11.
Corpus Christi^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
McHugh^1.0^7^4^4^1^0^0^36.00
James^5.0^6^3^1^2^4^0^2.84
Thompson (L, 0-2)^2.2^2^1^1^1^2^0^2.73
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Ray^2.0^5^2^2^0^1^0^4.19
Lovvorn^2.2^4^4^3^1^3^1^5.01
Marte, Y^2.1^3^1^1^2^3^0^3.86
Lovelady (W, 1-0)^2.0^2^0^0^0^4^0^0.00
WP: Thompson. HBP: Lopez, Jac (by McHugh).
Umpires: HP: Kyle McCrady. 1B: Grant Conrad. 3B: Jeff Gorman.
T: 3:24 (1:58 delay).
Richard Lovelady (1-0), also making his Double-A debut, followed Marte with two scoreless innings of relief. The hard-throwing left-hander allowed two hits, struck out four and did not walk a man to pick up the win.
“We’ve heard about the guy. That’s something special,” Wilson said. “The thing is he’s got so much funk coming at ya, it plays a little harder.”
Nicky Lopez, playing in his second Double-A game, matched Dewees with his 4-for-5 effort at the plate. Dewees also drove in three runs. Samir Duenez and Jack Lopez added two hits each. Duenez drove in two runs and also scored twice.
Short Hops
• Northwest Arkansas took a 4-2 lead off in the first inning off McHugh, who has been sidelined all season with a right shoulder impingement. The Houston Astros right-hander went 43-26 over the past three seasons, including 19-7 in 2015.
• J.D. Davis hit his Texas League-leading 19th home run of the season — a two-run shot that gave the Hooks a 5-4 lead. His home run was estimated at 455 feet.
On Deck: The final game of the series pits LHP Foster Griffin (5-1 1.93 ERA) for the Naturals against RHP Alex Winkelman (0-2 4.91 ERA) for the Hooks. Griffin was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week on Friday. He was 2-0, allowing one earned run of 12 and two-thirds innings over his last two starts.
Today’s Promotion: The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a navy blue Naturals Americana jersey. … Half price drink specials are available from 4:35-5:35 p.m. at the Bullpen Craft Beer Bar.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com