OKC Evens Home Series With 6-4 Win Friday

Oklahoma City Baseball Club — 6

El Paso Chihuahuas — 4

Friday, July 12, 2024 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: A four-run third inning proved to be the difference for the Oklahoma City Baseball Club in a 6-4 win against the El Paso Chihuahuas Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single by Ryan Ward. The Chihuahuas went ahead, 2-1, in the third inning on a two-run homer by Matthew Batten. OKC (6-10/46-45) then quickly responded with four runs in its next at-bat that included a solo home run by Drew Avans, a RBI double by Kody Hoese and RBI singles by Diego Cartaya and Austin Gauthier. A sacrifice fly by Andre Lipcius in the fourth inning gave OKC a 6-2 lead. El Paso (8-8/39-52) scored runs in the fifth and sixth innings on RBI singles before OKC pitchers Jack Dreyer (3-1), Jack Little and Jesse Hahn closed out the game with three scoreless innings.

Of Note:

-Oklahoma City won a second straight game for the first time since a three-game winning streak against Las Vegas July 1-4…OKC also evened the six-game series against the Chihuahuas, 2-2…This is the first time OKC has won consecutive home games within the same series since June 7-8 against Round Rock.

-Eight different players recorded OKC’s eight hits and six different OKC players finished with one RBI apiece in the win.

-OKC recorded a season-high seven stolen bases. It was also OKC’s highest single-game total for stolen bases during the MLBAM era (since 2005). The team’s previous game high since 2005 was six stolen bases last accomplished May 1, 2015 at Iowa.

-Drew Avans went 1-for-2 with a home run, game-high three walks, a stolen base and scored three of OKC’s six runs. He now has 410 hits during his OKC career and is four hits away from surpassing Esteban Germán for second place all-time during the Bricktown era (since 1998). His home run Friday was his seventh of the season.

-Ryan Ward went 1-for-3 with a RBI and two walks. He has now hit safely in eight of his last nine games, going 12-for-37 (.324).

-Kody Hoese doubled, finished with a RBI and scored a run. He has now hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, batting .289 (13x45) with four doubles, two homers and 11 runs scored. He has also reached base safely in a season-best 15 straight games.

-The final 10 Chihuahuas batters of the game were retired by OKC’s pitching staff. Jack Dreyer (3-1) was credited with the win, retiring all four batters he faced. Jack Little retired both batters he faced for a hold and Jesse Hahn retired all three batters he pitched against in the ninth inning for his first save with OKC this season.

Next Up: Oklahoma City and El Paso continue their series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Western Heritage Night presented by H&H Shooting Sports. Three-time Cy Young Award winner, 10-time All-Star and 2014 National League MVP Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch for OKC Saturday as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment.

Tickets for OKC home games for the remainder of the season are available at okcbaseball.com/tickets. Live radio coverage of each OKC Baseball Club game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps.