Late Slam Pushes Naturals Past Drillers
SPRINGDALE- The Tulsa Drillers took the field Tuesday night to open their first road trip of the season as they kicked off a six-game set against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark. Tulsa starting pitcher Andre Jackson was perfect, but it was not be enough to produce a win
SPRINGDALE- The Tulsa Drillers took the field Tuesday night to open their first road trip of the season as they kicked off a six-game set against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark. Tulsa starting pitcher Andre Jackson was perfect, but it was not be enough to produce a win as a late grand slam helped push the Naturals past the Drillers 5-1.
The starting pitchers for both sides were strong as the game remained scoreless through the first four innings.
The first run of the night came across in the fifth when a one out walk led to an RBI double by Dennicher Carrasco, giving the Naturals a 1-0 lead.
Michael Busch tied the game for the Drillers with a solo home run in the top of the eighth. For Busch, it was his third homer of the season.
The Naturals decisively answered in the bottom of the eighth. After Brewer Hicklen led off with a double against reliever Zach Willeman, a walk and a base hit loaded the bases, setting the stage for Rudy Martin. Martin deposited a pitch from Guillermo Zuniga over the right field wall for a grand slam that put the Naturals in front 5-1.
Tulsa was unable to answer in the ninth as the side was retired in order to end the game.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
*Naturals starting pitcher Jonathan Heasley, who played at Oklahoma State, pitched 5.2 shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out six.
*Only four Drillers batters earned a hit Tuesday night as the two teams combined for just nine hits.
*Tulsa left seven runners on base and was 0-3 with runners in scoring position.
*Following Jackson’s perfect start, Tulsa’s bullpen gave up four hits and five runs. Five of the 12 outs from Jackson came via strikeouts.
UP NEXT: Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas, Wednesday, May 12, 7:05 PM at Arvest Ballpark. Tulsa RHP Michael Grove (0-0, 19.29 ERA) versus Naturals RHP Jonathan Bowlan (1-0, 0.00 ERA).