Hoese Walks off Cardinals

Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers and Springfield Cardinals needed extra innings to decide a winner on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. With the game tied at 2-2, Springfield plated one run in the top of the tenth, but the Drillers did not surrender as they loaded the bases with two outs. Kody Hoese became the hero, hitting a sharply lined ball to right field that scored the tying and winning runs to lift Tulsa to a 4-3 win.

BOXSCORE

The dramatic, walk-off victory improved the Drillers record to 27-16, marking the first time this season that they have been 11 games over .500. They currently occupy first place in the North Division standings of the Texas League, 1 ½ games in front of second-place Wichita.

Pitching has been the story of the series for the Drillers and Cardinals, and that theme continued into Saturday’s game. Tulsa’s Bobby Miller had his best and longest outing of the season. Miller retired the first ten Springfield batters and eventually allowed only two hits in six-plus innings.

The Drillers began the game by scoring a run in the first inning. James Outman led off with a single and reached third base when Springfield starting pitcher Dalton Roach committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Jacob Amaya scored Outman with a single to left field for a 1-0 Tulsa lead.

The game was scoreless for the next five innings as both teams combined for just five baserunners.

Tulsa added a second run in the top of the sixth inning. Following a double by Kody Hoese and a wild pitch, Jeren Kendall delivered a run-scoring, infield single to give the Drillers a 2-0 lead.

Following six stellar innings on the mound, Miller came out for the seventh and gave up a hit to Matt Koperniak and hit Jordan Walker with a pitch before departing the game. Jose Adames came on for Miller and issued a walk to load the bases before hitting Nick Dunn with a pitch to give Springfield its first run. With the bases still loaded, the third walk of the inning tied the game at 2-2.

It remained tied through nine innings, sending the game to the tenth. The Cardinals went in front 3-2 when Justin Toerner singled to score the placed runner from second base.

Outman began the Drillers half of the tenth at second base, but things looked bleak as the Drillers quickly earned two outs on a pop out to first base and a flyout to center field. Andy Pages kept the game alive when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch. A four-pitch walk to Devin Mann loaded the bases and set the stage for Hoese’s game winning, walk-off single.

HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:

*Hoese finished the game going 3-5 with two RBI. He is now hitting .346 in 21 games during the month of May.

*Tulsa improved to 2-1 in extra-inning games this season.

*Springfield only earned three hits in the game.

*Miller finished the game pitching six plus innings with five strikeouts but exited with two runners on base and both scored. He hit 100 m.p.h. on the stadium radar gun several times.

*Tulsa’s bullpen allowed only one hit across the final four innings.

*The Drillers announced on Saturday that reliever Mark Washington had been assigned to Oklahoma City. To replace Washington, the Drillers received lefthander Jose Hernandez from Great Lakes. Hernandez, who was a perfect eight for eight in save opportunities for the Loons, pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout in his Double-A debut on Saturday night.

*Mann increased his on-base streak to 16 straight games with two walks.

UP NEXT:

Tulsa now holds a 3-2 advantage in the six-game series that will wrap up on Sunday night at ONEOK Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with a Fireworks Extravaganza scheduled for afterwards. The starting pitchers are expected to be:

Springfield – RHP Kyle Leahy (2-4, 6.21 ERA)

Tulsa – LHP John Rooney (2-1, 4.50 ERA)