Drillers Drop Third Straight in Wichita
WICHITA, KS - The Tulsa Drillers and Wichita Wind Surge entered the ninth inning of Saturday's contest tied, as the game seemed destined for extra innings. However, two unfortunate fly balls that the Drillers were unable to make a play on handed them a 5-4 loss at Riverfront Stadium and
WICHITA, KS - The Tulsa Drillers and Wichita Wind Surge entered the ninth inning of Saturday's contest tied, as the game seemed destined for extra innings. However, two unfortunate fly balls that the Drillers were unable to make a play on handed them a 5-4 loss at Riverfront Stadium and a three-game losing streak.
The loss evened the Coors Light Propeller Series at three games apiece.
The Wind Surge scored one run in the first when the inning began with Austin Martin reaching base on a fielding error from Tulsa's third baseman Devin Mann. Martin then stole second base to get into scoring position, and Spencer Steer brought Martin to the plate with a double to give Wichita a 1-0 lead.
The Drillers scored the season's first earned runs against Simeon Woods Richardson in the third inning to take the lead. Mann began the inning by being hit by a pitch, and Brandon Lewis followed with a single. Then, Jacob Amaya plated Mann with a double, and Michael Busch followed with an RBI groundout. James Outman drove in the inning's final run with an RBI single to give Tulsa a 3-1 lead.
Wichita quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the third. Steer began the inning with a solo home run, and after two walks and an error, a second run came in on a single.
Both teams traded solo home runs in the fourth with Mann going deep for Tulsa and Steer for Wichita, keeping the game tied at 4-4.
Tulsa missed an opportunity to put runs on the board in the top of the eighth when it loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit. Lewis flew out to right field, and Justin Yurchak tagged up at third on the play. Yurchak slid into home, and the tag from the catcher just barely nicked him to end the Drillers threat, keeping the game tied.
Drillers relief pitcher Guillermo Zuniga was dealing in the ninth before two massive plays allowed the winning run to score for Wichita. With two outs, Wichita’s Alex Isola hit a high fly ball that dropped between three Tulsa fielders for a hit. On the very next pitch, Amaya appeared to be in position to catch another similar fly ball. Instead, Amaya broke away from the play at the last moment to make way for left fielder Ryan Ward, but the ball hit the ground, allowing the winning run to score for the Wind Surge.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Activated on the roster on Saturday, Los Angeles Dodgers #7 ranked prospect Landon Knack made his first start of the season for the Drillers. Knack worked two innings in the start, allowing one run with four strikeouts.
*John Rooney followed Knack on the mound and gave the Drillers four more innings, giving up two runs with four strikeouts.
*Amaya finished 3-5 with three doubles in the game.
*The Drillers scored the first four earned runs of the season on Wind Surge starting pitcher Woods Richardson, who was recently named the Texas League Pitcher of the Month for April.
*Steer gave Wichita three of its five runs with his RBI double and two home runs on the night.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Wind Surge will play the final two games of their series with a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. Game one is scheduled to start at 12:05 p.m. at Wichita’s Riverfront Stadium, and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
GAME 1:
Tulsa – Bobby Miller (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Wichita – TBA
Game 2:
Tulsa- Michael Grove (0-1, 2.92 ERA)
Wichita- TBA
Fans can watch the Drillers all season long on MiLB tv or listen on AM 1430 The Buzz.