Drillers Strike Late to Rally for Fourth Straight Win

Tulsa, OK – Held scoreless with only one hit for the first half of the game, the Tulsa Drillers’ bats came to life in the late innings Saturday night at ONEOK Field. The Drillers scored a combined seven runs in their final three at-bats to overtake Wichita and record a 7-4 victory.

The win completed a three-game sweep of the Wind Surge and upped Tulsa’s winning streak to four straight games. The rally improved the Drillers second-half record to 8-4 and keeps them in first place in the North Division of the Texas League.

BOX SCORE

Wichita held the lead for much of the night after former Oklahoma State Cowboy Carson McCusker opened the game’s scoring with his seventh home run of the season in the top of the second inning.

The Drillers were held scoreless through the first five innings before finally getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and the bases empty, Dalton Rushing was hit by a pitch. The inning almost ended abruptly when Rushing appeared to be picked off first base. But during a rundown, Wichita first baseman Aaron Sabato had the ball slip out of his glove and Rushing safely returned to first.

Sabato was charged with what proved to be a costly error because Damon Keith narrowly missed hitting an opposite-field homer when he belted a drive that caromed off the top of the four-foot wall in right field. It resulted in a double for Keith and a run for the Drillers as Rushing raced home to tie the game at 1-1.

The Drillers took the lead and control of the game with four runs in the seventh inning. Griffin Lockwood-Powell opened the rally by drawing a lead-off walk and Brendon Davis followed with a double to put runners at second and third.

Bubba Alleyne put Tulsa in front when he lined a two-run triple under the glove of right fielder Kyler Fedko, who attempted a backhanded catch.

Alleyne scored the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Yeiner Fernandez. With two outs, Taylor Young drew walk and then provided the most exciting play of the game. On the next pitch, Young broke for second and Rushing grounded a base hit into right-center field. Young never slowed down and raced all the way home to score on the single, giving the Drillers a 5-1 lead.

A two-out single with the bases loaded in the eighth inning from Alex Freeland accounted for Tulsa’s final runs.

The Wind Surge made things uncomfortable for the Drillers in the top of the ninth. Jorel Ortega homered on the first pitch of the inning to make it 7-2. A two-run shot from Jeferson Morales cut Tulsa’s lead to just three runs.

Reliever Lucas Wepf recovered to get a ground out and a strikeout of McCusker to end the game.

INSIDE THE GAME

*The home run from McCusker was the only damage against Tulsa starting pitcher Kendall Williams. Williams worked the first six innings and allowed just the one run on five hits and three walks while striking out two. It continued a recent run of strong starts for the right-hander. Since June 13, Williams has a 2.92 ERA over his last five outings.

*With the victory, the Drillers now lead this season’s version of the Coors Light Propeller Series 10-8. The two teams will not meet again until the final series of the regular season when they will play six more times in Wichita. The Drillers would clinch their third straight Propeller Trophy with a split in that series.

*One of the keys for the Drillers in sweeping the series was their two-out hitting. They scored a total of 19 runs in the three games, and 14 of those runs scored with two outs.

*Young had his 11-game hitting streak come to an end with a 0-4 night. It is the longest hitting streak this season for a Tulsa batter.

*Reliever Christian Suarez followed Williams to the mound and worked around a hit and a walk to pitch a scoreless seventh inning and pick up the win. It improved his Double-A record to 2-3.

*Wichita starter Cory Lewis allowed just one hit over four scoreless innings.

*The three-game holiday series with the Wind Surge drew a total paid attendance of 20,278 at ONEOK Field.

*Former Drillers and OSU pitcher Justin Wrobleski is expected to make his Major League Baseball debut on Sunday for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wrobleski will become the first Drillers player from this year's roster to make it to the majors.

UP NEXT:

The Drillers will enjoy consecutive off days before resuming their extended home stand on Tuesday at ONEOK Field. They will host Corpus Christi for six consecutive days. Tuesday’s series opener will begin at 7:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:

CC - LHP Luis Angel Rodriguez (4-2, 4.95 ERA)
TUL - TBA