Walks Prove Costly in Drillers Loss to Wichita
WICHITA, KS – Bases on balls were the key to the Tulsa Drillers matchup with the Wichita Wind Surge on Saturday night, and it led to a loss for the Drillers. Tulsa pitchers issued a season high 11 walks in the contest, and they helped Wichita post a 7-3 victory
WICHITA, KS – Bases on balls were the key to the Tulsa Drillers matchup with the Wichita Wind Surge on Saturday night, and it led to a loss for the Drillers. Tulsa pitchers issued a season high 11 walks in the contest, and they helped Wichita post a 7-3 victory at Riverfront Stadium.
The defeat dropped the Drillers season record back to .500 at 7-7. Even with the loss, Tulsa will have a chance to claim a series victory with a win in Sunday’s series finale. The Drillers have won three of the first five games in the six-game set.
The Drillers took an initial lead on Saturday when Austin Gauthier opened the game with a leadoff double and later scored on a base hit by Jose Ramos.
Wichita quickly erased its deficit with three runs in the bottom of the first, forcing the Drillers to play catchup.
Tulsa got a run in the bottom of the third without the benefit of hit to pull within one before an RBI single from Diego Cartaya in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 3-3.
The control issues for Tulsa pitchers proved most costly in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Ryan Sublette walked the first three batters of the inning to set up a two-run single from Jake Rucker.
A cold and windy night was summed up for the Drillers in the bottom of the eighth when a walk and a single put Wichita runners at first and second with former OSU outfielder Carson McCusker at the plate. McCusker broke his bat on a soft liner toward short, with the end of the bat heading the same direction as the baseball. The baserunner at second, Noah Cardenas, had to duck under the flying bat that also forced Tulsa shortstop Austin Gauthier to take evasive action. As both eluded the bat, the ball rolled slowly into left field, allowing Cardenas to jump to his feet and race home to up the Wind Surge lead to three runs.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Tulsa starting pitcher Kendall Williams worked the first three innings and was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks. He needed 74 pitches to work his three innings.
*Lefty Ben Harris followed Williams to the mound and worked two scoreless frames. He did not allow a hit but did issue three walks while striking out three.
*Brendon Davis had two hits in the game and is now 7 for 21 (.333) in the series with the Wind Surge.
*With his first-inning RBI, Ramos has now driven in six runs in the first five games of the series. Gauthier has driven in five runs.
*Reliever Antonio Knowles kept the Wind Surge scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings without allowing a hit. Five of the six batters he faced went down on strikes.
*Saturday’s game time was 3 hours and 2 minutes. Four of the five games in the series have lasted at least three hours.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will play the sixth and final game in their series at Wichita on Sunday afternoon. Starting time is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Riverfront Stadium, and the starting pitchers are slated to be:
TUL - RHP Hyun-il Choi (0-0, 10.38 ERA)
WCH- LHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-1, 5.40 ERA)