Drillers’ Win Streak Snapped in Home-Opening Loss
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers 2024 home opener at ONEOK Field Tuesday night lasted 12 innings and over 3 hours, and Arkansas’ Hogan Windish was a nuisance throughout. Windish came to the plate six times and reached base safely each time with two home runs, a triple and three
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers 2024 home opener at ONEOK Field Tuesday night lasted 12 innings and over 3 hours, and Arkansas’ Hogan Windish was a nuisance throughout. Windish came to the plate six times and reached base safely each time with two home runs, a triple and three walks. It was his second homer of the night, a two-run blast in the top of the 12th inning that decided the contest, handing the Drillers a 4-3 loss and their first defeat of the season.
The extra-innings loss ended the Drillers perfect start to the season, leaving them with a 3-1 record.
After a two-run fifth inning for the Drillers, it looked as if they might post a one-run win of their own. Trailing 1-0 and limited to just three hits through the first four innings, the Drillers took advantage of a miscue from Arkansas to take the lead. After Brandon Lewis reached on an error leading off the bottom of the fifth, Austin Gauthier lined his first home run of the season into the Budweiser Terrace in left field to put Tulsa in front 2-1.
It remained that way until the eighth inning when Windish tied the game. His solo home run off Tulsa reliever Juan Morillo tied the score at 2-2.
Neither team scored in the ninth nor in the first two extra innings.
Windish changed that in the top of the twelfth. With the placed runner at second base, reliever Antonio Knowles struck out the first two batters of the inning. Windish belted a 1-1 pitch over the bullpens in right field for his second homer of the game, giving the Travs a 4-2 lead.
A leadoff single from Brendon Davis in the bottom of the twelfth pulled the Drillers two within one run. With one out, a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases but a strikeout and a ground ended the threat and Tulsa’s three-game winning streak.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The loss kept the Drillers from improving their record to 4-0 for the first time since the 2006 season.
*Home openers have not been kind to the Drillers recently. They are just 1-4 in their last five openers at ONEOK Field.
*The 12 innings marked the longest home opener in ONEOK Field history. The last time the Drillers played a longer opener came in that 2006 season when they outlasted Wichita 9-8 in 16 innings.
*Windish finished 3-3 with 3 runs batted in while also drawing 3 walks.
*Reliever Jack Dreyer got the Drillers out of a sixth-inning jam. After Windish led off with a triple against reliever Sauryn Lao, Dreyer was summoned from the bullpen. Following a sacrifice bunt that advanced Windish to third, he was thrown out trying to score when Dreyer got a ground ball to second from Grant Witherspoon. Dreyer then struck out Cole Young to end the threat and the inning with Tulsa still holding a 2-1 lead.
*Jack Dreyer is the son of former Drillers pitcher Steve Dreyer. Steve pitched for Tulsa in the 1993 and 1995 seasons, going 5-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 15 games.
*Arkansas stranded 18 runners on base in the contest.
*The Travs were 1-22 with runners in scoring position, and Tulsa was 2-14.
*The Drillers finished with just seven hits in the game, two off the bat of Lewis.
*The pitch that hit Gauthier in the 12th inning appeared to strike him on the hand. After receiving attention from athletic trainer Jesse Guffey, Gauthier remained in the game.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Travelers will quickly return to action, playing the second game of their six-game series at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at ONEOK Field. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
ARK- RHP Blas Castano
TUL- RHP Hyun-il Choi