Drillers Suffer Second Straight Loss in Amarillo
AMARILLO, TX – Two swings of the bat determined the outcome of Tulsa’s meeting with Amarillo Saturday night at HODGETOWN. A two-run homer in the first inning and a three-run shot in the seventh accounted for five runs and helped to propel the Sod Poodles to a 6-3 win over
AMARILLO, TX – Two swings of the bat determined the outcome of Tulsa’s meeting with Amarillo Saturday night at HODGETOWN. A two-run homer in the first inning and a three-run shot in the seventh accounted for five runs and helped to propel the Sod Poodles to a 6-3 win over the Drillers.
It was the second straight loss for the Drillers, and Amarillo has now won three of the five games played in the six-game series between the two teams.
The Drillers jumped in front early in the game with a run in the top of the first inning. Leadoff batter Alex Freeland drew a walk and scored on a one-out double from Dalton Rushing.
The lead did not last long as Jancarlos Cintron led off the bottom of the first with a base hit, and Caleb Roberts followed with his fifth home run of the season to give Amarillo a 2-1 lead.
Tulsa tied the score in the fourth inning when Austin Beck doubled and scored on a base hit by Damon Keith.
Again Amarillo responded and again it was Roberts. His one-out double in the fifth scored Cintron to give the Sod Poodles a one-run lead.
Bubba Alleyne got the score tied again in the top of the seventh when he singled, moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
For the third time, Amarillo had a quick answer. Cintron led off the bottom of the seventh with a base hit before a hit from Roberts put runners at the corners. Sauryn Lao came in from the Tulsa bullpen to replace Ronan Kopp and his fourth pitch was deposited over the right-center field fence for a three-run homer by Tim Tawa that gave the Sod Poodles a 6-3 lead.
Facing the three-run deficit, the Drillers would not have a response this time as they were set down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings to close out the game.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Tawa’s eighth-inning homer ended an impressive scoreless streak by Lao. The Tulsa reliever had not allowed a run since April 12, a stretch of 14 games and 17.0 innings.
*Tulsa batters struck out 12 times in the game, marking the 27th time in 56 games this season that they have struck out ten or more times in a game.
*Drillers starting pitcher Hyun-il Choi was charged with three runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.
*Kopp was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 2-1. He recorded only one out while allowing two hits and one walk.
*The Drillers now trail first-place Springfield by six games with 13 games remaining in the first half.
*The RBI from Keith in the fourth inning was his first of the season.
*Tulsa has a total of just ten hits in the last two games, both losses.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will close out their series in Amarillo with game six Sunday evening at HODGETOWN. The pitching matchup is a rematch of the series opener, a game the Sod Poodlels won 4-2. Starting time for the finale is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
TUL – RHP Jared Karros (1-1, 5.23 ERA)
AMA – RHP Cole Percival (3-4, 4.75 ERA)