Walk-Off in Ninth Clinches Drillers Playoff Berth
Playing in the opening game of a three-game series against the Springfield Cardinals, and needing just one win to clinch the Texas League North Division second half title, the Tulsa Drillers took care of business Saturday night. Despite trailing 5-2 going to the bottom of the eighth inning, Tulsa found
Playing in the opening game of a three-game series against the Springfield Cardinals, and needing just one win to clinch the Texas League North Division second half title, the Tulsa Drillers took care of business Saturday night. Despite trailing 5-2 going to the bottom of the eighth inning, Tulsa found a way to rally. The Drillers plated three runs in the eighth to tie the game before scoring the game-winning run with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the second-half title at ONEOK Field.
The Tulsa comeback began with one out in the eighth when pinch-hitter
After
Carter was able to strike out
The late Tulsa heroics were required as it was the Cardinals who took the early lead Saturday as they scored first in the second inning. A pair of walks from Tulsa starter
Springfield added another pair of runs in the third on back-to-back singles that were followed by a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Santana and a fielding error by Robinson, putting the visitors in front 3-0.
Photo by Rich Crimi
Tulsa got two of those runs back in the bottom of the third thanks to two, record-setting long balls.
Santana made up for his error in the top half of the frame as he launched a no-doubt homer into the back row of the Busch Terrace to bring Tulsa to within 3-1. It was the first home run by a Drillers pitcher since May 21, 2010 when Bruce Billings did the same in a game that was also played against Springfield at ONEOK Field.
Two batters later, Diaz matched Santana with a solo shot of his own to bring the Drillers to within 3-2. The pair of long balls were the 164th and 165th home runs of the season for Tulsa, setting the new single season franchise record. The previous record had been 164 homers hit by the 2011 Drillers squad. Tulsa currently leads all Double-A teams in homers and has the third-most in all the minor leagues behind only El Paso and Fresno.
The Cardinals added two runs in the fifth on an RBI single from
Johnson was credited with the win to improve his record to 7-1 on the year while Beck was charged with the loss for Springfield.
The victory means the Drillers will play in a best-of-five series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, who won the first-half title, following the conclusion of the regular season. The winner of that series will advance to the Texas League Championship Series against the South Division winner for a chance to claim the 2017 Texas League crown. The Drillers have not won the Texas League Championship since 1998, good for the longest drought in the league.
Playoff tickets for the North Division playoff series will go on sale to the public beginning Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. Fans can purchase tickets online at TulsaDrillers.com, in-person at the ONEOK Field ticket office, or over the phone at 918-744-5901.
The Drillers and Cardinals will play the second of their three-game series Sunday night. Springfield is scheduled to send out RHP