Ornelas homers, Riders drop Wednesday game
FRISCO, Texas (May 11, 2022) – The Tulsa Drillers homered three times Wednesday afternoon to take the second game of the week, 7-2, from the Frisco RoughRiders at ONEOK Field. The Riders overcame an early deficit against Tulsa, but the Drillers plated six of their seven runs in the fifth
FRISCO, Texas (May 11, 2022) – The Tulsa Drillers homered three times Wednesday afternoon to take the second game of the week, 7-2, from the Frisco RoughRiders at ONEOK Field. The Riders overcame an early deficit against Tulsa, but the Drillers plated six of their seven runs in the fifth through eighth innings.
Frisco (17-12) overcame a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with two runs, thanks to a solo home run from Jonathan Ornelas and Dustin Harris later scoring on a wild pitch. In the final inning for Avery Weems (1-3), Tulsa benefited from back-to-back doubles to tie the game and an RBI single from Michael Busch to put Tulsa in front for good, all with two outs.
Tulsa hopped on Weems with one run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning after Frisco stranded the bases loaded in the top of the inning. Weems allowed one hit through his next three innings, however, racking up six of his seven strikeouts in that juncture.
On the first pitch of the top of the third, Ornelas knocked his third home run of the season to tie Wednesday’s game, 1-1. Harris drew one of his three walks in the following at-bat and came in to score on a wild pitch from Tulsa starter Gus Varland.
Following the two-run fifth for Tulsa to retake the 3-2 lead, the Drillers got three solo home runs from James Outman, Chris Betts and Michael Busch in the next two innings, inflating their 6-2 lead. Brandon Lewis drove in the game’s final run with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning for his first and only hit of the day.
The six-game set continues in Tulsa at ONEOK Field Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. with a quality pitching matchup between Frisco RHP Justin Slaten (0-0, 2.12) and Tulsa RHP Clayton Beeter (0-1, 3.45). Beeter was selected in the Comp-B round of the 2020 Draft out of Texas Tech and is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, and played high school baseball at Birdville. Slaten, a third rounder in 2019 out of the University of New Mexico, grew up in Longview, Texas.
The RoughRiders return to Riders Field on Tuesday, May 17th to host the Corpus Christi Hooks for the first time this season. For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.
About the RoughRiders
The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance for 15 consecutive seasons (2005-2019). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 170 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].