Drillers Fall in ONEOK Field Finale
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers played their final game at ONEOK Field for the 2024 season on Sunday evening and fell 6-4 to the San Antonio Missions. The Drillers had two first-inning home runs and tried to rally with runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but it was
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers played their final game at ONEOK Field for the 2024 season on Sunday evening and fell 6-4 to the San Antonio Missions. The Drillers had two first-inning home runs and tried to rally with runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but it was not enough to overcome Missions lead that was aided by a four-run fourth inning.
All was not bad in the fan appreciation, Sunday finale. The three weekend games of the series with the Missions drew a paid attendance total of 21,561. It is the best attended three-day stretch at ONEOK Field since July 2-4 of the 2021 season.
Tulsa’s night began with a single from Noah Miller in the first inning that was quickly wiped away by a ground ball double play. Two pitches later, the Drillers gained a 2-0 lead with consecutive solo home runs from Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Jose Ramos. Both home runs came on the first pitch of the at-bats.
After retiring the first seven batters he faced, Tulsa starting pitcher Jerming Rosario ran into control issues in the third inning. The Missions earned only one hit in the inning, but two walks and two hit batters allowed San Antonio to tie the game at 2-2.
In the fourth, three doubles and a two-run homer from Ripken Reyes put the Missions in front 6-2.
Rosario’s night ended with one out in the fourth. He was charged with six runs, four of which were earned. He finished with seven strikeouts.
The score remained unchanged until Tulsa worked across a run in the eighth inning. Lockwood-Powell led off the inning with a double for his second hit of the game. He was driven in on Taylor Young’s double, which made the score 6-3.
Tulsa brought another run across in the ninth inning when Jose Izarra singled to score Donovan Casey from second base. San Antonio pitcher Bradgley Rodriguez then hit Lockwood-Powell to bring Ramos to the plate representing the potential game-winning run with two outs. Ramos worked a full count but was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Daniel Bytheway to end the game and the home season for the Drillers.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Paid attendance for the finale was 6,198, bringing the season total at ONEOK Field to 341,751.
*The two home runs in the first inning gave the Drillers 16 blasts in the opening frame this season. The 16 homers are second in the Texas League to Wichita, who has 17.
*The Drillers finished the season with a 36-32 record at ONEOK Field.
*The Drillers bullpen had a scoreless night in the loss. Michael Hobbs, Jorge Benitez and Ryan Sublette combined to shut out the Missions for the final 5.2 innings
*The loss was also the Drillers tenth series loss of the season. Tulsa has also claimed eight series wins and six splits.
*Ramos’ home run tied him with Damon Keith for the team lead with 16.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will conclude the 2024 season with a six-game series in Wichita with the Wind Surge. Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention, but the series will determine the winner of this year’s Coors Light Propeller Series. The Drillers currently hold a 10-8 advantage in the series and need either two or three wins at Riverfront Stadium to clinch their third straight Propeller Trophy. Two wins would be enough if they win the final game of the season. If they drop the finale, they will need three victories due to tiebreaking rules.
The series opener is set for Tuesday evening at 7:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
Tulsa – RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (7-7, 4.79 ERA)
Wichita – TBA