SPRINGDALE -- If Donnie Dewees Jr. had hit a shorter grounder Saturday night, Northwest Arkansas might have wasted a bases-loaded opportunity Saturday night.
Instead, two runners crossed the plate as a result of his fourth-inning dribbler in front of the plate, and the Naturals went on to complete a three-game sweep of Corpus Christi with a 6-3 victory at Arvest Ballpark.
Naturals 6, Hooks 3
Corpus Christi^000^001^200^—^3^8^2
NW Arkansas^000^310^02X^—^6^11^1
Corpus Christi^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Ferguson, CF^3^1^0^0^2^0^3^.298
Martin, LF^5^0^0^0^0^1^5^.320
Davis, J, 3B^5^0^2^0^0^3^1^.298
Singleton, DH^5^0^1^1^0^4^2^.233
Mayfield, 2B^3^0^0^0^1^2^2^.300
McCall, 1B^4^0^0^0^0^3^3^.286
Ritchie, C^4^1^2^0^0^1^0^.243
Laureano, RF^3^1^2^0^0^0^2^.204
Nunez, A, SS^3^0^1^2^1^0^1^.283
Totals^35^3^8^3^4^14^19^
2B: Laureano (9); Ritchie (5). RBI: Singleton (50); Nunez, A 2 (19). Team RISP: 2-for-11. Team LOB: 10. E: Davis, J (10); Ritchie (5). DP: (Nunez, A-Mayfield-McCall).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Lopez, N, 2B^5^0^2^1^0^0^2^.571
Escalera, DH^4^0^0^0^1^1^3^.262
Duenez, 1B^4^1^1^0^0^0^1^.280
Walters, 3B^4^1^2^0^0^0^1^.192
Miller, LF^3^1^2^1^1^0^0^.250
Arteaga, SS^4^2^0^0^0^1^5^.296
Dewees Jr., CF^4^1^2^1^0^0^3^.271
Dini, C^4^0^1^1^0^1^3^.371
Moon, RF^4^0^1^1^0^1^2^.237
Totals^36^6^11^5^2^4^20^
2B: Duenez (15). RBI: Dewees Jr. (38); Dini (9); Miller (2); Moon (19); Lopez, N (1). 2-out RBI: Moon; Lopez, N. Team RISP: 5-for-14. Team LOB: 8. SB: Dini (3); Duenez (7). E: Selman (1).
Corpus Christi^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Winkelman (L, 0-3)^3.2^5^3^0^1^2^0^4.21
Bostick, A^3.1^2^1^1^1^1^0^3.58
Thome^1.0^4^2^2^0^1^0^3.26
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Griffin (W, 6-1)^6.0^5^2^2^2^10^0^2.08
Selman (H, 2)^1.2^1^1^1^1^3^0^3.16
Newberry (S, 12)^1.1^2^0^0^1^1^0^2.23
Griffin pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
WP: Selman. HBP: Laureano (by Selman).
Pitches-strikes: Winkelman 65-48; Bostick, A 45-33; Thome 18-13; Griffin 101-66; Selman 32-17; Newberry 33-18.
Umpires: HP: Grant Conrad. 1B: Jeff Gorman. 3B: Kyle McCrady.
T: 2:52. Att: 4,646.
"Sometimes that happens," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said. "You smoke balls right at guys, then you do something like that. So again, that's putting the ball in play and making something happen.
The Naturals (45-34 overall, 6-3 second half) used Zach Walters' single, Anderson Miller's walk and a Corpus Christi error on Humberto Arteaga's grounder to third to load the bases with one out in the fourth. Dewees followed with his dribbler in front of the plate, which allowed Walters to score as the ball went far enough where Hooks catcher Jamie Ritchie couldn't field it and go back to home in time for the force out.
Ritchie then made an errant throw to first, allowing Miller to score. Nick Dini made it a 3-0 lead moments later when his single drove in Arteaga.
"I was watching because it was almost going to be interference on their pitcher," Wilson said. "He was coming to home plate and almost hit our runner, so I was watching that. Obviously the ball sailed."
Naturals starter Foster Griffin (6-1) made that lead stand with his third straight quality start. The left-hander, who will be the Kansas City Royals' lone representative in the Sirius/XM Futures Game, threw six-plus innings and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out a season-high 10 in a 101-pitch performance.
Corpus Christi (38-41, 4-5) made the game interesting when it cut Northwest Arkansas' lead to 4-3 in the seventh. The Hooks then had the tying run at third in both the seventh and eighth innings and had the tying run at the plate in the ninth.
"Again, our bullpen wasn't great," Wilson said. "(Sam) Selman and (Jake) Newberry are obviously better than that. It's been a while since they had pitched with the crazy All-Star break. Foster Griffin gave us a great start."
Short Hops
• The sweep was Northwest Arkansas' first over Corpus Christi since the 2011 season, and it marked the fifth series sweep over the Hooks in the Naturals' 10-year existence. It also ties the all-time series record between the two teams at 58-58.
• Miller, who had one hit in his first two games with the Naturals, had two hits Saturday, including an RBI single in the fifth to give Northwest Arkansas a 4-0 cushion.
• Leadoff hitter Nicky Lopez recorded his first RBI as a Natural when his two-out single drove in Arteaga, who had earlier reached on a fielder's choice. Logan Moon added another RBI single in the eighth for the Naturals' run.
On Deck: Northwest Arkansas continues its six-game homestand against South Division teams today as the Naturals welcome San Antonio for a three-game series. Left-hander Jake Kalish (0-1, 3.54 ERA) will start on the mound for the Naturals for the 4:05 p.m. game, while the Missions will start right-hander Eric Lauer, who is making his Double-A debut.
Today's Promotion: The first 1,500 fans to today's game will receive a commemorative "Season 10" t-shirt courtesy of Unify Financial Credit Union. It's also Family Sunday as kids 12 and under will receive a voucher for a hot dog, chips and 12-ounce drink, and kids can run the bases after the game is over.
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On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 07/02/2017