Drillers Edge Naturals to Snap Skid

Springdale, AR - The Tulsa Drillers opened a seven-game road trip Thursday night in winning fashion, rallying to beat Northwest Arkansas 2-1 to snap a three-game losing streak. The Drillers were held scoreless through the first six innings before generating a pair of runs in the seventh. A strong outing from starting pitcher David Hale and solid work from the bullpen ensured the two runs were enough to top the Naturals.
The win improved the Drillers second-half record to 16-11 and moved them to within one game of first-place Springfield in the North Division standings of the Texas League.
The only damage against Hale, who has major league experience with Atlanta and Colorado, came in the bottom of the third inning. Carlos Diaz worked a leadoff walk from Hale and advanced into scoring position on a balk. With one out, Samir Dueñez lined a base hit into centerfield to score Diaz and give the Naturals a 1-0 lead.
For much of the night, it looked as if the one run could be enough for Northwest Arkansas to record a victory, but the Drillers bats came to life in the seventh inning. With one out, Blake Gailen bunted for a base hit, and when pitcher Jake Kalish threw wildly to first, Gailen raced to second base. After Quincy Latimore grounded out, Erick Mejia delivered the clutch, two-out hit when he bounced a ground-rule double over the left field fence to score Gailen and tie the score. The clutch hitting continued when Darien Tubbs grounded a single into right field to plate Mejia and give the Drillers the 2-1 lead.
Hale (1-0) worked 6 2/3 innings, throwing 102 total pitches in picking up his first win since joining the Drillers. The right-hander allowed just the one run on six hits. He walked one batter and struck out five.
Brian Moran followed Hale to the mound and was outstanding. The lefthander, who just recently signed a free agent, minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, struck out all four batters he faced. Moran, who is the nephew of former major leaguers Rick and B.J. Surhoff, has not allowed a run in any of his first three outings with Tulsa.
Former University of Oklahoma hurler Corey Copping pitched the bottom of the ninth and set the Naturals down in order to close out the win and collect his tenth save of the season.
Glen Sparkman was the starting pitcher for the Naturals. Sparkman, who pitched in the majors with Toronto earlier this season, threw five shutout innings and allowed only four hits.
Gailen enjoyed a big offensive night for the Drillers, finishing with three hits. Tim Locastro added two hits from his leadoff position.
The Drillers will play the second game of their four-game series in Northwest Arkansas Friday night. Another hurler with big league experience, Eddie Gamboa (1-0, 3.00 ERA), will take the mound for Tulsa, while the Naturals will counter with Corey Ray (5-7, 4.50 ERA). Starting time at Springdale's Arvest Ballpark is slated for 7:05 p.m.