Smith Blasts Late Winner

Tulsa's Will Smith homered in his fourth straight game Saturday night, but none of the previous three was as big has his blast against Northwest Arkansas. Smith's three-run homer erased a two-run lead for the Naturals and propelled the Drillers to a dramatic 4-3 win at ONEOK Field.    
The Drillers entered the bottom of the eighth down 3-1, and Mike Ahmed and Tyler Goeddel reached to put runners on first and second. With two outs, Smith crushed a towering fly-ball that found its way into the Busch Terrace for the game-winner. Not only was it Smith's fourth-straight game with a homer, it was his 11^th of the season.
Starting pitcher Kyle Lobstein was making his Driller debut after signing as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the lefthander cruised through the first two innings. Lobstein set down the first seven batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk in the top of the third to Anderson Miller. Nick Dini followed with an infield single to put runners at first and second. Jecksson Flores brought both runners home when he lined a double into the left field corner, giving the Naturals a 2-0 lead.
Ahmed quickly got one of the runs back for the Drillers in the bottom half of the third. The second baseman's solo homer into the bullpens in right field was his fourth of the season and cut the Northwest Arkansas lead to 2-1.
Tulsa appeared to be in position to take the lead in the fourth inning when it loaded the bases with one out and Keibert Ruiz at the plate. Ruiz hit a hard ground ball that appeared headed for right field, but Naturals first baseman Alex Liddi made a diving, backhanded stop to start an impressive 3-6-1 inning-ending double play.
The Naturals added a third run in the seventh against reliever Stetson Allie. The hard-throwing right-hander issued a leadoff walk to Cort Peterson. Peterson moved to second on a wild pitch before stealing third and scoring on a base hit by Miller to make it 3-1.
Lobstein pitched effectively in his debut, surrendering just the two third-inning runs while allowing four hits in 5.2 innings. He walked just one batter while striking out eight.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Lobstein began the season pitching for Tijuana in the Mexican League, and he went 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 11 starts for the Toros. The 28-year-old spent three seasons pitching in the majors for Detroit (2014-2015) and Pittsburgh (2016), logging a 6-10 record and a 5.06 ERA in 34 appearances.
The two Drillers home runs were the only Tulsa extra-base hits of the night.
Smith is now 7-16 and has logged eight RBI over his last four games.
Karch Kowalczyk picked up his first win of the season after throwing two scoreless relief innings, giving up only one hit.
*The Drillers individual record for most consecutive games with a home run was set in 1997 when Dan Collier hit a long-ball in seven straight games.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will conclude their longest homestand of the season on Sunday afternoon when they again host the Naturals for the 12^th and final game of the stand.   Starting time is scheduled for 1:05PM in what will be the final day game of the regular season at ONEOK Field. The pitching matchup will feature:
NWA   Scott Blewett (4-4, 5.70 ERA)
TUL      Justin De Fratus (2-3, 5.40 ERA)