Wild Pitch Leads to 3-2 Win for Drillers

Tulsa, OK - The Tulsa Drillers have not had a lot of good fortune against Northwest Arkansas this season, but they were the benefactor of some Saturday night at ONEOK Field. The Drillers took advantage of a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning to score what proved to be the winning run in a 3-2 victory over the Naturals. 
The win was the second straight for the Drillers who broke a six-game losing streak to the Naturals the previous night. Tulsa is now 4-1 in the Texas League's second half and occupies first-place in the North Division standings.
The wild pitch decided a tightly-contested game. For the third straight night, the Naturals scored first in the game. With two outs and the bases empty in the top of the second inning, Humberto Arteaga singled off Chris Rearick, who was making his ONEOK Field debut. Logan Moon followed with a line drive base hit to right, and right fielder Henry Ramos let the ball scoot past him. The error allowed Arteaga to score all the way from first to give Northwest Arkansas a 1-0 lead.
Second baseman Jose Fernandez erased the deficit for the Drillers in the bottom of the third. Quincy Latimore opened the inning with a leadoff single. After Erick Mejia struck out, Fernandez belted his 8th home run of the year to put Tulsa in front 2-1. The drive flew just inside the right field foul pole before landing on Elgin Avenue.
The lead held until the top of the eighth inning. Pinch-hitter Donald Deweese opened the inning by tripling into the gap in right-center field off reliever Shea Spitzbarth. Samir Dueñez brought Deweese home with a one-out sacrifice fly that tied the game.
Tulsa's game-winning rally began when Fernandez opened the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice bunt, the Naturals walked Edwin Ríos. Pinch-runner Zach McKinstry advanced to third on a fly out by Jacob Scavuzzo, setting the stage for the game-deciding play. With Matt Beaty at the plate, Northwest Arkansas reliever Sam Selman uncorked a wild pitch that allowed McKinstry to race home with the go-ahead run.
Tulsa reliever Corey Copping made sure the lead held, setting the Naturals down in order in the top of the ninth. Quincy Latimore, who moved to right field in a key defensive switch for the Drillers, caught the final out, running down a drive in deep, right-center field.
Rearick turned in an impressive outing in his Tulsa debut. The lefthander, who was pitching in the independent Atlantic League earlier this season before signing a free agent, minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, worked six innings. Rearick surrendered just four hits and the one unearned run.
Spitzbarth picked up the win, his first-ever at the Double-A level, while Copping recorded his sixth save in seven opportunities.
Tulsa will close out its series with Northwest Arkansas Sunday afternoon before the Texas League's three-day break for the league's All-Star Game. The pitching matchup will feature Walker Buehler (1-1, 3.23 ERA) for the Drillers against Foster Griffin (4-1, 2.30 ERA) of the Naturals. Starting time is scheduled for 1:05PM in what will be the final Sunday day game of the season at ONEOK Field.