Drillers Title Hopes Fade with Doubleheader Loss to Travelers
TULSA - The first-half division title hopes of the Tulsa Drillers were severely damaged Friday night after being swept in a doubleheader at ONEOK Field by first-place Arkansas. The Travelers claimed an emphatic 10-1 win in the opener, before rallying for an 8-5 win in extra innings in the second
TULSA - The first-half division title hopes of the Tulsa Drillers were severely damaged Friday night after being swept in a doubleheader at ONEOK Field by first-place Arkansas. The Travelers claimed an emphatic 10-1 win in the opener, before rallying for an 8-5 win in extra innings in the second game. The two losses dropped the second place Drillers 6.5 games behind the Travs with only 9 games remaining in the first half.
The star of the night for Arkansas was former Bishop Kelley High School and Oklahoma State University product
The two teams have now played six extra-innings games this season, and the Travs have won all six.
The Travelers made easy work of the Drillers in game one, scoring a combined nine runs in the third and fourth innings.
Walton paced a 13-hit attack for the Travs, going a perfect 3-3, including a homer, from the leadoff spot. Zach Zammarelli added another homer and 3 runs batted in.
Tulsa starting pitcher
In the second game, Arkansas quickly jumped in front with a two-run first inning against Tulsa starter
It remained 2-0 until Tulsa scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the score. Singles from
The score remained tied as the two teams traded solo homers in the fifth. With one out in the top half of the inning, White lined a pitch from Holmes just inside the left field foul pole and into the Busch Terrace to put the Travelers back in front 3-2.
Ruiz led off the bottom of the sixth with another base hit, setting the stage for Santana. The Tulsa third baseman lined his double off the base of the fence in right-center field, scoring Ruiz all the way from first with the go-ahead run.
As they have many times this season, the Travelers had an answer for the Drillers. After retiring the first batter of the inning, reliever
Neither team scored in the eighth inning before the Travs plated four runs in the ninth to claim the win and the sweep.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Catcher Josh Thole was added to the Drillers roster on Friday, returning from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Catcher
The Drillers wore special 918 Jerseys and will continue to wear them through the weekend. The jerseys are currently being auctioned online with proceeds benefiting those affected by the recent tornadoes and floods that struck the Tulsa area.
After the two-run first inning in game two, Holmes settled in and allowed just three hits and one run over the next five innings. He was in line for the win until the Travs plated the tying run against Kasowski in the seventh.
Tulsa has now lost 16 of 24 games with Arkansas this season.
UP NEXT: Arkansas at Tulsa, Saturday, June 8, 7:05 PM at ONEOK Field. LHP