Drillers Fall on Walk-Off Grand Slam
Springfield, MO– The Tulsa Drillers have consistently been dominant when leading after eight innings during the 2024 season. Tulsa entered the ninth inning on Tuesday with a 42-2 record when leading after eight innings and carried a 6-3 lead against the Springfield Cardinals into the ninth inning. The Drillers ran
Springfield, MO– The Tulsa Drillers have consistently been dominant when leading after eight innings during the 2024 season. Tulsa entered the ninth inning on Tuesday with a 42-2 record when leading after eight innings and carried a 6-3 lead against the Springfield Cardinals into the ninth inning. The Drillers ran into pitching troubles in the final frame that allowed the Cardinals to rally for six runs, completing the comeback with a walk-off grand slam to defeat Tulsa 9-6 at Hammons Field.
The Drillers were able score early, plating four runs in the first two innings. Damon Keith earned Tulsa’s first hit with a first-inning double, and he scored one batter later on a single from Griffin Lockwood-Powell.
The Drillers added to their lead with three unearned runs in the second inning. With two outs, they had two runners on base when Noah Miller hit a routine fly ball to center field, but Bryan Torres dropped the ball, allowing Brendon Davis and Donovan Casey to score. Keith singled to drive in the inning’s third run to put Tulsa ahead 4-0.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the fourth inning on two singles and a hit batter and produced two runs with two more singles. A wild pitch gave Springfield its third run to make the score 4-3. All three runs scored against Drillers reliever Kelvin Bautista.
Antonio Knowles took over in the fifth inning and kept the Drillers on top until they were able to increase their lead in the seventh. Lockwood-Powell supplied the runs by blasting a two-run homer that upped Tulsa’s lead to 6-3.
Ronan Kopp entered and recorded four outs to keep the Drillers lead at three runs. Lucas Wepf took over with one out in the eighth and struck out the final two batters to end the inning.
After the Drillers were retired in order in the top of the ninth, Wepf returned to the mound to begin the bottom half of the ninth. He induced a flyball out but surrendered three consecutive hits, allowing Springfield to score its fourth run. R.J. Yeager drew a walk to load the bases before Jorge Benitez replaced Wepf. The Puerto Rico native issued a walk to the first batter he faced to force in the Cardinals fifth run, but he recovered to strike out Aaron McKeithan for the second out. Chris Rotondo followed and on a 1-0 count, delivered the grand slam that sent the Drillers to a disappointing loss.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The loss was charged to Wepf, dropping his record to 4-3 with the Drillers.
*The Drillers have now lost 28 games this season when leading during the game, with 20 of those losses occurring on the road.
*Tulsa trails first-place Springfield by 6.5 games in the Texas League North Division. Because the Cardinals won the first-half title, Arkansas is currently in position for the final playoff spot in the North with the Drillers trailing by 4.5 games.
*Lockwood-Powell had a big game offensively, earning two hits and driving in three runs. His seventh-inning home run was his 12th of the season.
*Starting pitcher Jackson Ferris worked another scoreless outing in his third start with Tulsa but exited the game earlier than expected. Ferris saw trouble in the first inning after he walked three straight batters with one out to load the bases. The lefthander struck out the next two batters to escape the jam but finished with 35 pitches thrown in the inning. Ferris’ night ended after completing three innings and giving up two hits and three walks with five strikeouts on 72 pitches thrown.
*Jose Ramos earned a hit to increase his hitting streak to seven straight games.
*The Drillers made a few roster moves prior to the series opener. Pitcher Hyun-il Choi was transferred to Oklahoma City. Infielder Brandon Lewis was added to the Injured List, and infielder Cristian Santana was signed as a minor league free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Santana last played for the Drillers in 2019 when he finished the season batting .301.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will continue their six-game series on Wednesday night in Springfield. Game two will begin at 6:35 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
Tulsa – RHP Carlos Duran (0-2, 1.99 ERA)
Springfield – RHP Tink Hence (4-3, 2.84 ERA)