Tulsa Wins, Forces Game Five

Tulsa, OK-A three-run bottom of the eighth inning spoiled the Arkansas Travelers comeback attempt on Saturday night as the Tulsa Drillers won 5-3 to force a decisive fifth game in the Texas League North Division Series. Arkansas tied the game at two in the top of the eighth on a two out , two-run single from Kyle Lewis. Tulsa responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to regain control of the game. Shea Spitzbarth, who allowed the tying single in the eighth, was able to close it out in the ninth inning and was the winning pitcher. Wyatt Mills was tagged with the loss for Arkansas. Ashton Goudeau started and pitched six innings, allowing only two runs, keeping the Travs in the game. Lewis and Joseph Odom each had two hits with Odom launching a ninth inning homer. Gavin Lux hit a pair of doubles for Tulsa while Drew Jackson hit two doubles and a triple while driving in two runs.
Moments That Mattered
* Single runs in the first and third innings put Tulsa out to the early lead. Meanwhile, the Travs were stymied by Drillers' starter Andrew Sopko who gave up just three hits over six shutout innings.
* Tulsa threatened to blow the game open in the bottom of the sixth putting runners at second and third with none out for the heart of the order. Goudeau snared a line drive off the bat of Keibert Ruiz, then the Travs got an out at the plate on a groundball by D.J. Peters before Jacob Scavuzzo flied out to end the inning.
* Yonathan Mendoza reached on an error to open the top of the eighth before Joey Curletta hit an infield single with one out putting the tying run on. With two out and Lewis at the plate, a wild pitch moved the runners to third and second. Lewis battled, working to a full count, before lining the 10^th pitch of the at-bat into left field for the tying hit.
* The Drillers bounced right back in the bottom of the inning. Lux and Jackson hit doubles on consecutive pitches to put Tulsa right back on top. Three batters later, after an infield hit by Peters, Scavuzzo doubled to score a pair and pad the lead.
Notable Travs Performances
* CF Kyle Lewis: 2-4, 2 RBI
* C Joseph Odom: 2-4, run, HR, RBI
* Ashton Goudeau: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, BB, 5 K
Up Next
The deciding fifth game is Sunday afternoon in Tulsa with the winner moving on to the Texas League Championship Series beginning Tuesday night. The Travs will start right-hander Williams Pérez, who was knocked out of his game one start in the second inning after being struck by a line drive, against Drillers righty Mitchell White. First pitch is at 1:05 and the game will be broadcast on the Sports Animal 920, the First Pitch App, TuneIn radio and milb.tv.