Drillers Hold on to Split Doubleheader
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers played their sixth doubleheader of the season and the third with the Wichita Wind Surge on Wednesday at ONEOK Field. Tulsa split the two games as two errors in the sixth inning hurt the Drillers in a 7-4 game one loss but bounced back
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers played their sixth doubleheader of the season and the third with the Wichita Wind Surge on Wednesday at ONEOK Field. Tulsa split the two games as two errors in the sixth inning hurt the Drillers in a 7-4 game one loss but bounced back in game two holding off a late Wichita rally for a 4-3 win.
The split kept the Drillers a 1/2 game behind Wichita in the Texas League North Division with 10 game left in the first half. With the split, Tulsa also maintains a 7-4 lead in the Coors Light Propeller series.
The Drillers wasted no time in game one as they quickly scored a run in the first inning. James Outman reached on a single, Andy Pages followed with a walk and Ryan Ward delivered an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
Tulsa starting pitcher, Landon Knack, surrendered a lead-off walk in the second inning that eventually tied the game. Following Matt Wallner’s walk, a single from Andrew Bechtold and a sacrifice fly by DaShawn Keirsey brought the score to 1-1.
The Drillers broke the tie in the third inning when singles from Outman, Pages and Carson Taylor plated a run for a 2-1 Tulsa lead.
Nick Robertson entered the game from the bullpen in the fourth inning and got Tulsa out of a two-out bases-loaded jam. Robertson returned for the fifth inning, and Edouard Julien brought the game to a 2-2 tie with a lead-off solo home run.
Two errors hurt the Drillers in the sixth inning as the Surge scored two unearned runs and three in the inning. First, a throwing error from third baseman Brandon Lewis on a ground ball from Bechtold put the potential go-ahead run at third. Bechtold then scored on a wild pitch from Tulsa reliever Jose Adames. Keirsey followed with a solo home run, and a fielding error by Justin Yurchak handed Wichita a third run for a 5-2 lead
Wichita added two runs in the seventh inning on consecutive RBI groundouts to bring the score to 7-2.
Outman earned his third hit of the game with a two-run homer for Tulsa’s final runs.
The Drillers began game two as the visiting team due to a previous rain out in Wichita. Tulsa began the game similar to the opener, taking a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer from Pages.
Tulsa plated a third run in the fourth as the inning began with Abiatal Avelino’s double, his first hit with the Drillers. Then, Avelino stole third base before an error advanced him to the plate for a 3-0 Tulsa lead.
Dennis Ortega brought in the first Wichita run in the fourth with an RBI groundout to bring the score to 3-1.
The Drillers added an insurance run on a 4-5 fielder’s choice that scored Leonel Valera from third base to increase Tulsa’s lead to 4-1.
Tulsa worked into a jam in the sixth inning as Tanner Dodson took the mound and loaded the bases with three straight walks to begin the inning. Dodson then retired the next two hitters on a strikeout and a lineout, before Manager Scott Hennessey turned to Jordan Leasure out of the bullpen. On the second pitch Leasure threw, Keirsey drove in two runs on a single to right to make the score 4-3. Leasure got a strikeout to end the inning with lead in place.
For the second straight night, the Drillers turned to closer Guillermo Zuniga to close out the game as he recorded the final three outs to earn his seventh save.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Tulsa is now 5-7 in doubleheader games this season.
*Louie Varland, the younger brother of Gus Varland was the winning pitcher of game one for Wichita pitching 5.0 innings. Gus earned the win in game two for Tulsa by pitching two innings out of the bullpen.
*Knack finished game one by going 3.2 innings and allowing two hits, one run and four walks with five strikeouts. John Rooney took the mound for game two and work three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
*Taylor and Pages ended the twin bill with their on-base streaks intact, both at 15 games.
*Ryan Ward earned a hit in each game to increase his hitting streak to seven straight games.
*Tulsa was 2-17 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday.
*Outman’s home run in game one put him at 14 for the season and tied for the second most in the Texas League.
*The Drillers used a combined nine pitchers the two games.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Wind Surge will continue their series on Thursday, June 16 at ONEOK Field with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The pitching matchup is scheduled to be:
Wichita – RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-0, 0.00 ERA Double-A debut)
Tulsa – RHP Bobby Miller (2-1, 4.79 ERA)