Ward Leads Big Offensive Night in Win
Springfield, MO – For the third consecutive night, the Tulsa Drillers scored their first runs against the Springfield Cardinals via the home run. That home run proved to be a sign of things to come as the teams combined for six home runs. Tulsa had a 3-1 lead before the
Springfield, MO – For the third consecutive night, the Tulsa Drillers scored their first runs against the Springfield Cardinals via the home run. That home run proved to be a sign of things to come as the teams combined for six home runs.
Tulsa had a 3-1 lead before the Cardinals went in front with a six-run third inning. But the Drillers responded, scoring seven runs in the fourth that led them to a 10-7 win Friday night at Hammons Field. Ward led Tulsa in the win earning three hits, including two homers, while driving in five runs.
James Outman led off the game with a single to right, and Michael Busch followed with a walk. Ward then blasted a three-run homer into the left field bullpen to give Tulsa a 3-0 lead.
A lead-off walk to Chase Pinder came back to hurt the Drillers in the bottom of the first. Following the walk, Pinder reached second base on a wild pitch and moved to third on a single. Moises Gomez brought Pinder home with a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 3-1.
Tulsa surrendered three home runs in the third inning, which gave the Cardinals the lead. Pinder began the inning with a solo home run to left. Then, with a runner on second, Gomez hit his league-leading eighth homer. Chandler Redmond later added a two-run homer to bring the score to 7-3.
The Drillers did not take long to regain the lead as they exploded for seven runs in the fourth. Jeren Kendall drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single, and Outman plated the second run with his RBI single. Next, Andy Pages brought in three more with his first Double-A home run. Ward gave Tulsa its final two runs of the inning, blasting his second home run of the game, making it a 10-7 lead.
Mark Washington took the mound in the fourth and halted the scoring, working three hitless and scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
In the bottom of the ninth, a walk and a hit off Austin Drury put two runners on for Springfield. Manager Scott Hennessey then turned to Aaron Ocsenbein who retired the final three hitters of the game, earning his second save of the season.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*The Drillers seven-run fourth set a new season high for runs in an inning.
*Tulsa also set a new season high with 16 hits in the game.
*Eight of the nine Tulsa hitters earned a hit on Friday night. Michael Busch was the only batter to not record a hit, but he earned three walks in the game.
*Starting pitcher Clayton Beeter finished his start giving up three hits and three runs in two innings.
*Washington retired eight consecutive Cardinals hitters before giving up his only base runner of the night.
*Cardinals reliever, Tyler Pike tossed three scoreless innings to slow the Drillers offense.
*Gomez continued to swing a hot bat against the Drillers , going 2-4, and is now hitting .476 with 2 home runs in the series.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Cardinals continue their six-game series on Saturday at Hammons Field. Start time for game five is set for 5:35 p.m. The pitching matchup will be:
Tulsa – LHP John Rooney (1-1, 4.66 ERA)
Springfield- LHP Domingo Robles (1-0, 0.75 ERA)