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Tulsa Wins First Game as los Petroleros

Jacob Scavuzzo delivered the big hit in Tuesday's victory for los Petroleros, a three-run double in the third, that helped Tulsa to a 5-1 win over Springfield. (Matt Christensen)
June 19, 2018

The Tulsa Drillers played their first-ever game as los Petroleros de Tulsa (The Oilmen of Tulsa) and the result was a victory. Los Petroleros scored four times in the third inning and got another strong outing from Andrew Sopka and defeated Springfield 5-1 at ONEOK Field. It was the first

The Tulsa Drillers played their first-ever game as los Petroleros de Tulsa (The Oilmen of Tulsa) and the result was a victory. Los Petroleros scored four times in the third inning and got another strong outing from Andrew Sopka and defeated Springfield 5-1 at ONEOK Field. It was the first game of the second half in the Texas League's split schedule.
Sopko picked up this third straight win in just his third start since joining los Petroleros from Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. The right-hander allowed just one run on six hits in six efficient innings. His ERA since coming to Tulsa fell to 1.93 with the outing.
Broken Arrow native and former University of Oklahoma pitcher Jacob Evans blanked Tulsa through the first two innings before running into trouble, and it was his counterpart who started the problems. Sopko delivered the first hit by a Tulsa pitcher this season with a one-out single, and Luke Raley followed with another hit. Evans, making just his second start of the season, issued consecutive walks to Connor Joe and Yusniel Díaz to force home the game's second run. Jacob Scavuzzo promptly increased the lead for los Petroleros to 4-0 when he lined a bases-clearing double into the left field corner.
Sopko's shutout bid ended in the top of the sixth. Tommy Edman singled and advanced to third on a double by Edmundo Sosa. Edman came home with the Cardinals first run when Lane Thomas grounded out to short.
Los Petroleros added a fifth run in the bottom of the eighth on consecutive doubles by Raley and Joe.
The Tulsa bullpen in back of Sopko was also outstanding. Stetson Allie who played in 32 games for the Drillers last season as an outfielder, made his Double-A debut on the mound and worked a scoreless seventh inning while hitting 100 m.p.h on the stadium's radar gun.
Dylan Baker blanked the Cardinals over the final two innings to close out the win and pick up his fifth save.
As part of Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversión initiative, the Drillers wore black jerseys under the designation of Los Petroleros de Tulsa for the first of five times this season. Tulsa is just one of 33 Minor League Baseball teams participating in the program that attempts to reach out and include the underrepresented Hispanic market. Over 18 million Hispanics identify themselves as fans of Minor League Baseball.

WHAT YOU MISSED
The walk issued by Evans in the third inning marked the fourth consecutive game that a Springfield hurler has forced in a run with a bases-loaded free pass.
Tulsa picked up the win despite being out-hit 8-6 by Springfield.
The game ended bizarrely when Springfield's Granden Goetzman was thrown out attempting to steal second base despite his team trailing by four runs.
Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas finished in a first-half tie in the Texas League North Division, so Tuesday's meeting between the two teams determined the first-half champion. The Travelers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over the Naturals to claim the title and the guaranteed playoff spot.
UP NEXT
The Drillers and Cardinals will quickly be back in action Wednesday morning for the fourth and final game of their four-game series. Starting time at ONEOK Field is scheduled for 11:05 AM, in what will be the final weekday day game of the season. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
SPR      Jake Woodford (3-7, 4.88 ERA)
TUL      Devin Smeltzer (3-5, 4.90 ERA)