SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Arkansas closer Jake Newberry worked his way in and out of trouble to notch his fourth save of the season in the Naturals' 4-2 win over Springfield on Tuesday night at Arvest Ballpark.
The Cardinals (13-10) loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the ninth before the Naturals' right-hander battled back to get a short flyout and two strikeouts to close the door.
Newberry pitched two scoreless innings and now only trails Tulsa's Josh Sborz for the Texas League lead in saves, but he had to work hard for his fourth.
Luke Dystra led off the ninth with a double and Thomas Spitz followed with a double off the center-field wall, but Dykstra held at third. Cardinals lead-off man Tommy Edman drew a walk, but Newberry bounced back to get the next three hitters to end the game.
He finished it by striking out Springfield cleanup man Andrw Knizner, the Texas League's leading hitter.
Northwest Arkansas (8-16) scored all its runs in the first three innings and leaned on solid pitching by starter Scott Blewett and three relievers. Springfield (13-10) dropped to 2-8 on the road
Northwest Arkansas took a 1-0 lead against Greene in the bottom of the first as Elier Hernandez bounced an RBI-single between shortstop and third base, driving in Donnie Dewees Jr., who led off the back with a double.
The Naturals added three in the bottom of the third for a 4-1 lead thanks to a two-run single by Duenez. Another run scored on a wild pitch by Springfield starter Conner Greene (2-2).
Blewett (1-2) picked up his first win as a Natural. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked three in six innings of work.
Shorthops
• Greene, who came to the Cardinals' organization as part of the trade that sent Randal Grichuck to Toronto, was rated as the No. 16 prospect in the Blue Jays' system.
• Hernandez, Dewees had two hits each to lead Northwest Arkansas. Dykstra had two hits for Springfield and drove in a run.
On Deck: Northwest Arkansas will start Emilio Ogando (2-1 6.06 ERA) on the mound today, while Springfield will counter with Mike O'Reilly (1-0 0..0 ERA) in the second game of their four-game series. This one is slated for an 11:05 a.m. first pitch.
Today's Promotion: It's the second of four Education Day games that feature discounted tickets for students, teachers and chaperones.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 05/02/2018