Tulsa Loses Slugfest with Corpus Christi 12-6

On a night where every batter in the lineup for both Tulsa and Corpus Christi collected at least one hit, with the exception of All-Star Willie Calhoun, it was the Corpus Christi Hooks who came out victorious. The Hooks dropped the Drillers in the series opener as they used 15 hits and 12 runs to claim the 12-6 victory Sunday night.

The Drillers got in an early hole after the Hooks pummeled Tulsa starter Scott Barlow early with five runs over the first two innings. Corpus Christi set the tone early as the first four batters reached with base hits to plate the first run of the game. Back-to- back groundouts then scored two more Hooks to put the home team up 3-0 after the opening frame.

Roberto Pena picked up where his teammates had left off to start the bottom of the second as he launched a solo shot over the left-center field fence to extend the Hooks lead to 4-0. Three batters later, another run had crossed the plate thanks to an RBI single by Mott Hoyde.

Both teams put a runner in scoring position in the third, but neither side was able to plate the runner. That would not be an issue in the fourth inning though, as both squads increased the runs scored column on the scoreboard.

Tulsa got its first runs on the board with a two-out rally that saw Cody Bellinger, Lars Anderson, and Vinny DiFazio all clubbed base knocks to plate the first run for the Drillers. That was followed by two straight walks to Drew Maggi and Jordan Tarsovich to force home the second run for Tulsa, drawing the Drillers to within 5-2.

But the Hooks responded emphatically with five runs in the bottom of the fourth with the big blow being a two-out, bases-loaded double by Nick Tanielu to chase Barlow from the game and push their advantage back up to 10-2.

After the Drillers scored a run in the fifth followed by two runs in the sixth off former OSU star Michael Freeman, it seemed like it might be a ballgame again as Tulsa trailed 10-5 going into the seventh inning.

Yet again however, Corpus Christi got its bats going again with individual runs in the seventh and eighth innings to keep Tulsa at-bay. Although the Drillers managed to scratch across one last run in the top of the eighth, that would be all they could manage as they fell to the Hooks by the final score of 12-6.

Tulsa finished with 14 hits on the night Kyle Garlick, Jacob Scavuzzo and Anderson all wrapped up their nights with multi-hit performances.

Barlow took the loss after allowing 10 runs on 11 hits over his 3.1 innings of work, while Albert Minnis earned his first victory of the year for the Hooks with 2.1 innings of relief work.

The Drillers and Hooks will continue their series Monday night as the nation celebrates Independence Day. RHP Chase De Jong (8-4, 2.45 ERA) will look to get Tulsa back on the winning track while RHP Edison Frias (3-0, 2.54 ERA) will look to build off Corpus Christi's momentum from Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.