Drillers Complete Comeback on Hainline’s Grand Slam
Tulsa, OK – For much of this week’s series with Northwest Arkansas, the Tulsa Drillers have played with the lead against the Naturals. But on Saturday night, the Drillers were in unfamiliar territory as they trailed by three runs entering the eighth inning. Tulsa’s offense erased the deficit by exploding
Tulsa, OK – For much of this week’s series with Northwest Arkansas, the Tulsa Drillers have played with the lead against the Naturals. But on Saturday night, the Drillers were in unfamiliar territory as they trailed by three runs entering the eighth inning.
Tulsa’s offense erased the deficit by exploding for seven runs, capped by Elijah Hainline’s grand slam that completed a comeback that gave the Drillers an 11-7 victory at ONEOK Field.
The win was the Drillers fifth straight and put them in a position to sweep the six-game series in Sunday afternoon’s finale. It also kept them in first place in the Texas League’s North Division ½ game in front of Arkansas.
The victory was also Tulsa’s 13th comeback of the season and the 10th at ONEOK Field.
The Naturals benefited from a leadoff walk to score the game’s first run. Following the walk in the second inning, a single and a groundball double play gave Northwest Arkansas a 1-0 lead.
Tulsa did not trail for long, tying the game in the third inning. A double and a walk put two runners on base for Zyhir Hope, who singled home Josue De Paula to tie the score 1-1.
Northwest Arkansas used a single, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to score and retake the lead in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, Canyon Brown’s leadoff single and Carson Roccaforte’s double upped the Naturals lead to 3-1.
The Drillers took their first lead of the night by scoring three runs in the fifth. With one out, De Paula hit another double, and two walks followed to load the bases. Hope plated the inning’s first run with a sacrifice fly, and Griffin Lockwood-Powell drove in two more with a double to left field that put Tulsa in front 4-3.
Another leadoff walk again hurt the Drillers as Northwest Arkansas used a groundout and a double from Alberto Rodriguez to tie the game in the seventh.
The Naturals took the lead back in the eighth, using two walks in the inning to set up Omar Hernandez, who hit a three-run homer to put Northwest Arkansas back in front 7-4.
Tulsa began its rally with one out in the bottom half of the eighth when Lockwood-Powell singled, and two walks followed to load the bases. Jake Gelof singled to produce the first run of the inning. De Paula followed with an RBI single, and Mike Sirota tied the game with a bases-loaded walk, bringing Hainline to the plate. With the bases still full, the Tulsa shortstop emptied them when he hit a blast that carried beyond the left field fence and into the top section of the Country Financial Terrace.
The dramatic grand slam capped the seven-run inning and promptly gave the Drillers a four-run lead.
Reliever Cam Day entered in the ninth inning, and he made sure that the lead held. Day retired the Naturals in order to close out the come-from-behind victory.
GAME NOTES
*Entering Saturday, the Drillers were 5-15 when trailing after the seven innings.
*Tulsa starting pitcher Patrick Copen pitched effectively while working into the seventh inning. His line of four runs allowed on five hits and three walks was slightly misleading for the outing that he had.
*With De Paula reaching base in the third, it allowed him to increase a pair of streaks. His double raised his hitting streak to 8 straight games and his on-base streak to 17 games.
*Hainline’s grand slam was his eighth homer of the season, matching his 2025 season total.
*Maddux Bruns was credited with the win, upping his record to 2-1.
*Lockwood-Powell’s two-RBI double continued his hot stretch against the Naturals. This week, he is batting .467 with three doubles, two home runs and seven runs driven in.
*Prior to his grand slam, Hainline had drawn three walks. His performance increased his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games and his hitting streak to five games.
*It was the fourth grand slam this season for a Tulsa batter. Hope, Joe Vetrano and Sean McLain have also hit slams grand slams this year.
*Sirota’s walk in the fifth upped his on-base streak to ten games with the Drillers and 40 games combined between Great Lakes and Tulsa. The 40-game on-base streak.
UP NEXT
Tulsa will conclude its series with Northwest Arkansas on Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field. Starting time for the finale is set for 1:00 p.m. and the pitching matchup is expected to be:
NW Arkansas – LHP Frank Mozzicato (0-2, 7.63 ERA)
Tulsa – LHP Wyatt Crowell (3-4, 7.04 ERA)