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Tulsa Drillers

Drillers Drop Second 14 Inning Game of the Week

August 22, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Lars Anderson of the Tulsa Drillers Congratulated in the Dugout
Lars Anderson of the Tulsa Drillers Congratulated in the Dugout
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)

Lars Anderson returns to the dugout following his solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. (Photo by Rich Crimi)

The Tulsa Drillers suffered a tough 4-1 loss Friday night following a long battle against the Midland RockHounds that lasted 14 innings. A sellout crowd joined the Drillers at ONEOK Field making it the 13th sellout of the season with 7,993 in attendance.

The loss marked the second time the Drillers have lost a 14 inning game this week as they fell Tuesday night to the Frisco RoughRiders 5-3 in another marathon contest.

In Midland's first appearance at ONEOK Field back in June, the RockHounds swept the Drillers in a three-game series, leaving the Drillers looking to return the favor.

Chris Anderson, looking for his first win since July 17th, started the game strong. Anderson tossed two innings, keeping Midland's bats at bay while only allowing two hits.

Anderson's outing was cut short before the start of the third by order of manager Razor Shines, after pitching a total of 39 pitches, to give way to relief pitcher Jacob Rhame.

Rhame came on strong as he threw two scoreless innings, including striking out the first three RockHounds batters he faced.

Ramon Benjamin took the mound for the Drillers in the top of the fifth following Rhame. After Benjamin walked the first two batters plus a fielder's choice, a passed ball by catcher Kyle Farmer brought the first run of the game home safely to put the RockHounds on the board first.

Tulsa was unable to answer back over the following two innings as starter Dillon Overton handed the ball over to Jonathan Joseph after tossing five shutout innings while only allowing three hits.

The Drillers bullpen was able to prevent the RockHounds' offense from scoring further as Ralston Cash, Daniel Tillman, Ryan Dennick, Caleb Dirks and Deck McGuire all combined for eight shutout frames following Midland's unearned run in the fifth.

Lars Anderson finally put the Drillers on the board to tie the ballgame up in the bottom of the seventh with his 13th homer of the year off Joseph.

The combined efforts from the Drillers bullpen kept the eighth and ninth innings quiet as the score remained 1-1 sending the game into extra innings. This trend continued for well into the twelfth inning showcasing an evenly matched defensive game, with not a lot of offense.

Tulsa threatened in the bottom of the 12th as Dixon singled to centerfield followed by a single to leftfield from Farmer to move Dixon into scoring position. With Lars Anderson up to bat, Midland relief pitcher Andres Avila intentionally walked Anderson to bring Brandon Trinkwon up to bat. Avila was able to escape the bases-loaded jam as he struck out Trinkwon and Peter Lavin to keep the game tied.

The RockHounds promptly loaded the bases themselves in the 13th inning with back-to-back singles followed by an intentional walk by Drillers reliever McGuire with two outs. With Bruce Maxwell up to the plate and a full count, McGuire was able to get Maxwell to ground out to first, ending the threat.

Tulsa first basemen Lars Anderson made his third pitching appearance of the year; his second against Midland, in the top of the 14th after the Drillers had burned through their entire pen. But Midland took advantage of the infielder on the mound, tallying four hits that included a two-run home run from Beau Taylor to leave the score at 4-1 in favor of Midland.

The Drillers did not go quietly into the night as Farmer was hit by a pitch followed by a double from Lars Anderson to bring the tying run up to the plate. But Trinkwon grounded out to first to bring an end to the 3 hour and 58 minute ballgame.

Midland's Andres Avila got the win with three shutout innings while RockHound Ryon Healy led all hitters at the plate as he finished with five hits in his seven at-bats.

Hoping to bounce back after Friday night's loss against Midland, the Drillers will move into game two Saturday night at ONEOK Field. Tulsa will start southpaw and MLB veteran Eric Stults (3-3, 3.35 ERA) to go head-to-head with Midland's own southpaw and the Oakland A's #3 prospect Sean Manaea (3-1, 2.84 ERA). Start time is scheduled for 7:05pm on the corner of Archer and Elgin.

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Images from this story

Lars Anderson of the Tulsa Drillers Congratulated in the Dugout
Lars Anderson of the Tulsa Drillers Congratulated in the Dugout
(Rich Crimi)		   

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