Drillers Winning Streak Ends with Loss to Travelers
Tulsa OK – The Tulsa Drillers six-game winning streak came to an end Thursday night with a 13-3 loss to Arkansas at ONEOK Field. The Travelers plated three runs in both the second and fourth innings to take a big early lead and cruised to the win. It was a
Tulsa OK – The Tulsa Drillers six-game winning streak came to an end Thursday night with a 13-3 loss to Arkansas at ONEOK Field. The Travelers plated three runs in both the second and fourth innings to take a big early lead and cruised to the win.
It was a tough night for the Drillers in all three phases of the game. Defensively, they entered the night having committed just six errors in the first ten games of the season, but they nearly doubled that total with four miscues in the first four innings of Thursday’s defeat.
Offensively, the Drillers were limited to just four hits, while the Travelers pounded 15 hits.
Drillers starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski worked a scoreless first inning before the Travelers opened the game’s scoring with their three-run second inning. Jared Sundstrom singled with one out, stole second base and advanced toward third when catcher Nelson Quiroz’s thrown deflected into centerfield. Centerfielder Kendall George tracked down the errant throw and then committed his own error when his throw to third bounced into the third base dugout, allowing Sundstrom to jog home with the night’s first run.
Following the two miscues, Nick Raposo lined a home run into the Country Financial Terrace in left field for the second run. It was the first of four hits in the game for the Arkansas catcher.
The third run of the inning scored when J.T. Arruda walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on a stolen base and home when Quiroz committed his second throwing error of the frame.
Arkansas upped its lead to 4-0 in the third when Hunter Fitz-Gerald walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a base hit from Lazaro Montes.
In the fourth, Raposo led off with a double and came home on third baseman Kyle Nevin’s throwing error. Arruda reached on the error and swiped third base before scoring on Blake Rambusch’s single. A sacrifice fly from Fitz-Gerald later in the inning gave the Travelers a 7-0 lead.
Arkansas scored single runs in both the seventh and eighth innings Arruda capped the big offensive night with a ninth-inning grand slam.
Kyle Nevin kept the Drillers from suffering their first shutout of the year. After a pair of walks in the bottom of the eighth, Nevin belted his team-leading third home run.
GAME NOTES
*Despite the defeat, the Drillers still have an impressive 8-3 record on the young season.
*Zyhir Hope had one of Tulsa’s four hits, singling in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to ten straight games. Hope has hit safely in every game he has played this season.
*All three of Nevin’s home runs this year have come at ONEOK Field.
*The 15 hits and 13 runs for the Travelers were both season highs for a Tulsa opponent.
*Relievers Nick Robertson and Joel Ibarra were two bright spots in the game for the Drillers. Robertson worked a scoreless inning, while Ibarra kept the Travelers scoreless in his two innings pitched.
*Serwinowski officially worked 3.0 innings and was charged with seven runs, six of which were earned. The lefthander allowed seven hits, gave up two walks and threw two wild pitches while suffering his second loss of the season.
*It was Josue De Paula bobblehead night at the stadium. The Tulsa outfielder also caught the night’s ceremonial first pitch thrown by his mom.
UP NEXT
The Drillers and Travelers will continue their six-game series at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and a pair of pitchers who have yet to give up a run this season will square off. It will be game three of the six-game series between the two teams and those starting pitchers will be:
ARK- LHP Kade Anderson (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
TUL – RHP Patrick Copen (2-0, 0.00 ERA)