Late Rally Drops Drillers
North Little Rock, AR- For the second straight night, the Arkansas Travelers spoiled a late Tulsa lead as a four-run rally from the Travelers sent the Drillers to an 8-5 loss Wednesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Earlier, the Drillers had staged a rally of their own to overturn a three-run
North Little Rock, AR- For the second straight night, the Arkansas Travelers spoiled a late Tulsa lead as a four-run rally from the Travelers sent the Drillers to an 8-5 loss Wednesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park.
Earlier, the Drillers had staged a rally of their own to overturn a three-run deficit before the Travs late-inning heroics spoiled the comeback.
Clayton Daniel got the scoring going in the second inning with an RBI single to left field, scoring Carlos Rincon to give the Drillers an early lead.
Daniel and Rincon connected again in the bottom half of the second when Rincon shot down a base runner trying to go first to third on a single. Arkansas continued to threaten to tie the game before Michael Grove recorded a strikeout on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning.
Arkansas took a 4-1 lead in the third inning after pushing across four runs on four hits and a pair of walks.
Rincon sparked the beginning of a Tulsa comeback in the fifth when he launched a two-run home run to left center field, his seventh of the season.
The Drillers reclaimed the lead in the seventh inning with another two-run frame. Jeren Kendall tied the ballgame when he scored on a wild pitch, before Ryan Noda’s single to right field gave Tulsa a 5-4 lead.
In the eighth inning, the Travelers tied the game with a lead-off home run before a two-out bases loaded double busted the score wide open, giving Arkansas an 8-5 lead.
Tulsa was unable to get any sort of offense going in the ninth inning, as the side was retired to end the ballgame.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
*Tulsa's starting pitcher Grove pitched 2.0+ innings before being relieved in the third after giving up the first four Arkansas runs.
*Bryan Brickhouse and Jordan Martinson allowed just one hit over a combined 4.1 innings of work. The pair also fanned seven hitters while allowing just one walk.
*Daniel and Noda both swiped their first bases of the season in the Wednesday game.
*Rincon went 1-1, drawing three walks in the game.
*Busch led Tulsa with two hits in the ballgame, his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
*With the loss the Drillers fall to second place and are a half game behind the first place Wichita Wind Surge.
UP NEXT
Tulsa at Arkansas, Thursday, June 17 at 7:10 PM at Dickey-Stephens Park. Tulsa RHP John Rooney (0-1, 3.55 ERA) versus TBA.