SPRINGDALE -- Donnie Dewees Jr. had seen enough of Eddie Gamboa and his knuckleball antics Friday night.
Dewees ended the Tulsa pitcher's no-hit bid in the fifth inning when he belted a home run, and his teammates followed suit with another run on three more hits as the Naturals ended a six-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Drillers at Arvest Ballpark.
Naturals 2, Drillers 1
Tulsa^000^100^000^—^1^7^0
NW Arkansas^000^020^00X^—^2^7^0
Tulsa^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Locastro, 2B^4^0^1^0^0^2^2^.266
Robinson, SS^4^0^1^0^0^0^2^.293
Ramos, H, RF^4^0^0^0^0^1^2^.417
O’Brien, 1B^3^0^0^0^1^1^1^.169
Fernandez, DH^4^1^2^1^0^0^1^.311
Mejia, E, 3B^4^0^1^0^0^1^1^.295
Gailen, LF^3^0^0^0^0^1^2^.304
Tubbs, CF^3^0^0^0^0^0^1^.238
Whiting, C^3^0^2^0^0^1^0^.667
Totals^32^1^7^1^1^7^12^
2B: Whiting (1). HR: Fernandez (14). RBI: Fernandez (55). 2-out RBI: Fernandez. Team RISP: 0-for-4. Team LOB: 5. SB: Locastro (20). DP: 1 (Locastro-Robinson-O’Brien).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Lopez, N, 2B^4^0^1^1^0^1^0^.281
Orlando, DH^4^0^2^0^0^1^1^.500
Duenez, 1B^4^0^0^0^0^0^2^.267
Dini, C^4^0^0^0^0^1^1^.360
Miller, CF^3^0^1^0^0^1^0^.232
Dewees Jr., LF^2^1^1^1^1^1^1^.260
Arteaga, SS^3^0^1^0^0^0^1^.287
Escalera, RF^2^1^0^0^1^1^0^.256
Diaz, C, 3B^3^0^1^0^0^0^0^.200
Totals^29^2^7^2^2^6^6^
HR: Dewees Jr. (8). RBI: Dewees Jr. (40); Lopez, N (4). 2-out RBI: Lopez, N. Team RISP: 2-for-2. Team LOB: 5. CS: Arteaga (4). DP: 2 (Lopez, N-Arteaga-Duenez; Arteaga-Lopez, N-Duenez).
Tulsa^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Gamboa (L, 1-1)^7.0^6^2^2^2^6^1^2.81
Kowalczyk^1.0^1^0^0^0^0^0^3.11
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Ray (W, 6-7)^6.0^6^1^1^1^4^1^4.33
Lovelady (H, 2)^2.0^1^0^0^0^3^0^0.71
Newberry (S, 15)^1.0^0^0^0^0^0^0^1.99
Ray pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
WP: Gamboa.
Pitches-strikes: Gamboa 94-64; Kowalczyk 10-6; Ray 89-55; Lovelady 28-17; Newberry 15-9.
Umpires: HP: Nate Tomlinson. 1B: Kyle Wallace. 3B: Jon Felczak.
T: 2:20. Att: 4,052.
"I can't even think of us seeing one since I've been in the league," Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said. "It's tough because you don't want your guys to get outside themselves. In the same sense, it's a good experience for them.
"The guy was tough early. I thought he actually did a great job of mixing up his speeds, but Donnie got us on the board."
Tulsa (49-49 overall, 16-12 second half) led 1-0 after Jose Fernandez hit a solo home run off Corey Ray in the fourth inning. Gamboa kept Northwest Arkansas' bats silent with a knuckleball that ranged 58-72 mph, which made a mid-80s fastball seem even faster. Dewees, however, didn't see a good pitch in the second inning and ended up with a walk.
Dewees saw three straight knucklers to begin his next at-bat, then Gamboa tried to sneak a fastball by him. Instead, Dewees connected on the 2-1 pitch and belted it over the right-field fence to tie the game.
"I probably saw that knuckleball about seven times and two fastballs," Dewees said. "But I happened to guess right on that one. I was thinking fastball, and I put a good swing on it.
"I knew I would see a lot of knuckleballs the first time, so I was sitting on it there. I had seen three straight knuckleballs on that at-bat, and I knew he likes to sneak a fastball in at times. I figured 'Heck, why not sit on it just once?'"
Alfredo Escalera kept the inning alive with a two-out walk against Gamboa (1-1), then he raced to third as Carlos Diaz excuted the hit-and-run and crossed up Tulsa second baseman Tim Locastro. Nicky Lopez answered with a solid single to left to score Escalera and give the Naturals (51-47, 12-16) a 2-1 lead.
That was all Northwest Arkansas needed. Ray (6-7) allowed just six hits and left after Errol Robinson's single to start the seventh, then Richard Lovelady avoided an eighth-inning jam before Jake Newberry pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
"Corey did great," Wilson said. "He wasn't sharp location-wise, but obviously he had good stuff on the ball. Lovelady pitches out of a jam, then Newberry did what he does."
Short Hops
• Kansas City Royals outfielder Paulo Orlando, who played at Northwest Arkansas from 2010-12, joined the team Friday as part of a rehab assignment and served as a designated hitter. He finished 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, including one in the fifth, but Diaz was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
• Northwest Arkansas centerfielder Anderson Miller denied Tulsa of another run when he drove and snagged Locastro's sinking line drive to end the fifth.
• Tulsa catcher Brant Whiting returned to the team for a second time Thursday, but was actually seeing his first game action with the Drillers. He led off with eighth with a double against Lovelady, who managed to keep Whiting stranded at third when the inning ended.
On Deck: The two teams continue their four-game series with a 6:05 p.m. game today at Arvest Ballpark, and Northwest Arkansas will send left-hander Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.14 ERA) to the mound. Tulsa's listed starting pitcher is right-hander Tim Shibuya (3-1, 1.74), but the Drillers put him on the 7-day disabled list Thursday.
Today's Promotion: It's Big Country Bash night, and fans will enjoy a free postgame concert by country music star Jerrod Niemann following the game. There is also a Saturday Happy Hour, where fans can enjoy half-price deals on more than 70 different beverages and gates will open at 4:35 p.m.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 07/22/2017