Drillers Benefit from Eight Walks in Saturday Win
SPRINGDALE, AR – The Tulsa Drillers recorded their third straight win on Saturday night, and the victory came with help from Northwest pitchers. The Drillers took advantage of eight walks in a 9-2 win over the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark. Tulsa can claim another series victory with a win on
SPRINGDALE, AR – The Tulsa Drillers recorded their third straight win on Saturday night, and the victory came with help from Northwest pitchers. The Drillers took advantage of eight walks in a 9-2 win over the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark.
Tulsa can claim another series victory with a win on Sunday in the final game of the six-game set.
The Drillers took an early lead with home runs from Justin Yurchak and Abiatal Avelino and used a six-run sixth inning to secure the victory.
Tulsa also got strong pitching performances from Gavin Stone and an impressive Double-A debut from Lael Lockhart. Stone pitched four scoreless innings, while Lockhart picked up his first Double-A win, pitching the next 4.2 innings.
The Drillers struck first in the top of the first inning with a two-run homer from Justin Yurchak to right field.
Avelino added to the Drillers’ lead in the top of the second inning with a solo homer to centerfield to give Tulsa an early 3-0 advantage.
Stone made sure the lead held. The Arkansas native allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven in his four-shutout innings.
Lockhart made his Drillers debut by taking over for Stone in the top of the fifth inning. He allowed seven hits, two runs, and a walk with three strikeouts.
The Drillers gave Lockhart a 9-0 cushion with six runs in the top of the sixth inning. The first two runs came when Leonel Valera was walked with the bases loaded Avelino was hit by a pitch.
The next three runs came from a three-run double from Buddy Reed, and the final run came from an RBI single from Ryan Ward.
The Naturals added their only runs of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run homer from CJ Alexander.
Gus Varland made his 30th appearance of the season in the ninth inning. He struck out the final batter and secured the 9-2 victory for the Drillers.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Yurchak led the Drillers with a 2-for-4 performance from the plate. He finished with two runs, two RBI and a walk.
*Avelino posted a 1-3 night with two runs and two RBI.
*Valera drew three walks.
*The Drillers plated 9 runs with only 6 hits, while the Naturals only plated 2 runs with 11 total hits.
*The Tulsa defense had zero errors in the contest, snapping a nine-game streak with one or more errors in a game.
*The Drillers pitching staff also allowed 11 walks on Saturday night. Tulsa has now allowed a Double-A high 33 batters in the first five games with the Naturals.
UP NEXT: The Drillers and Naturals will face off for the final time of the series on Sunday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark. Starting time for game six of the series is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. and the pitching matchup is expected to be:
Tulsa – LHP John Rooney (4-3, 4.52 ERA)
NWA – RHP Andrew Hoffman (0-2, 6.91 ERA)