Martin, Naturals roll in home opener

SPRINGDALE -- Rudy Martin is listed at a mere 5-foot-7, 4 inches shorter than anybody else on Northwest Arkansas' roster.

He became the team's biggest hero Tuesday night when he blasted an eighth-inning grand slam and allowed the Naturals to enjoy their home opener with a 5-1 victory over the Tulsa Drillers before 2,402 in attendance at Arvest Ballpark.

"It's just unreal," Martin said. "The Dodgers are known for having hard-throwing pitchers, and I had fouled off a couple of pitches. I knew he liked to come inside on hitters, and I thought he might do it again and try to break my bat.

"I'm not a home run hitter. So I dropped the bat after the hit and took off toward first."

[GALLERY: Northwest Arkansas Naturals vs. Tulsa Drillers: https://nwamedia.photoshelter.com/gallery/Naturals-vs-Tulsa-5-11/G0000Q5mv1z.g_54/C0000nbe1Mgt5O5M]

Northwest Arkansas (4-2) did get a little assistance in setting the stage for Martin's heroics. Tulsa (2-5) had the infield shifted toward the left side when Brewer Hicklen lofted a ball to shallow right field that fell between second baseman Michael Busch and right fielder Donovan Casey for a double.

Dennicher Carrasco, who broke up the no-hitter for the Naturals with an RBI double in the sixth, drew a walk, then Angelo Castellano dropped a single into left-center to load the bases after he failed to drop a bunt twice. That set the stage for Martin, who blasted a 2-2 deep over the right-field wall for the first grand slam he had ever hit.

"Hicklen hustling and getting to second was a big play," Naturals manager Scott Thorman said. "That ball hit he didn't get 5 feet out of the infield. We then get a good at-bat our of Carrasco and draw a walk, and Angelo drops that single after he can't get the bunt down.

"There were a lot of good things that happened in that inning. And it was good to finally play at home in front of our fans."

Dylan Coleman (1-0), the third Northwest Arkansas pitcher, then retired Tulsa in order in the ninth to pick up the victory. Coleman had entered the game to start the eighth with a 1-0 lead, but Busch greeted the right-hander with a solo home run to left-center field to tie game.

The Naturals, who entered Tuesday's game hitting .214 as a team, couldn't get a baserunner through the first four innings against Tulsa starter Andre Jackson. Hicklen finally broke that string when he drew a two-out walk in the fifth against reliever Justin Briuhl, then he scored when Carrasco drilled his double into the left-field corner.

Northwest Arkansas starter Jon Heasley threw 5.2 scoreless innings and allowed just four hits while striking out six.