Drillers Rally Late, Win on Bellinger's Blast
May 22, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
For eight innings Sunday, the Tulsa Drillers seemed headed to their third straight shutout loss, but things changed quickly. Trailing Northwest Arkansas 4-0 entering the top of the ninth, the Drillers scored four times to send the game to extra innings. In the eleventh, Cody Bellinger smacked his second game-winning homer in the past 11 days to give the Drillers an improbable 6-4 win over the Naturals at Springdale's Arvest Ballpark.
Through eight innings Sunday, the Drillers were held scoreless and were limited to only three hits. Willie Calhoun opened the final inning with a base hit, and then Tulsa got a break. Centerfielder Terrance Gore misplayed a fly ball from Alex Guerrero for a two-base error, putting runners at second and third.
Calhoun came home with the first run on a ground out from Alex Verdugo, and Guerrero scored on a base hit by Jacob Scavuzzo to make it 4-2. Consecutive singles from Bellinger and Lars Anderson plated Scavuzzo to cut the deficit to one run.
The Drillers caught their second break of the inning when Kyle Farmer followed with a potential double play grounder, but second baseman Orlando Calixte's relay throw to first was high, allowing Farmer to reach safely and Bellinger to race home with the tying run.
It remained 4-4 until the top of the eleventh inning. With one out, Scavuzzo singled, bringing Bellinger to the plate. Down in the count at 1-2, the left-handed hitter planted a pitch from Tim Hill, who played collegiately at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, over the right field wall for a two-run homer that gave the Drillers a 6-4 lead.
Ralston Cash worked around a base hit and a walk in the bottom of the eleventh to close out the Naturals and give the Drillers the win.
For Bellinger, his game-winning blast was his fourth home run in 22 games since coming off the disabled list on April 30, and two of them have been game winners. On May 14 at ONEOK Field, Bellinger hit his first Double-A home run, a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning to propel Tulsa to a 6-2 win over Arkansas.
The four runs in the ninth inning ended an offensive drought for the Drillers. They had not scored a run in their past 27 innings before the rally.
Los Angeles Dodgers hurler Frankie Montas started the game for Tulsa on a major league injury rehabilitation assignment. Montas worked a scoreless first inning before surrendering a solo home run to Zane Evans in the second inning.
Montas allowed just the one run in his two innings of work on two hits and one walk. He had two strike outs with 26 total pitches, 17 for strikes.
Evans added to his second-inning homer when he struck again for the Naturals in the fourth, hitting a two-run shot off reliever Logan Bawcom.
Northwest Arkansas used another long ball, a solo shot in eighth by Ramon Torres off Jordan Schafer, to take its four-run lead.
It was all erased with the Drillers rally in the ninth.
The victory moved Tulsa to within 3.5 games of first-place Springfield in the North Division standings of the Texas League.
The Drillers and Naturals will wrap up their four-game series Monday morning at Arvest Ballpark. Trevor Oaks (3-1, 3.52 ERA) will work the finale for Tulsa against Matt Strahm (2-3, 2.49 ERA) of Northwest Arkansas. First pitch is scheduled for 11:05AM in Springdale.
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Texas League Stories from May 22, 2016
- Jon Daniels Joins 11 AM Fox Sports Southwest Broadcast on Monday - Frisco RoughRiders
- Darvish Dominates as Riders Roll over San Antonio - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Rally Late, Win on Bellinger's Blast - Tulsa Drillers
- "Walk-Off" Wade / "Mariano" Kirkland - Midland RockHounds
- Hooks Fight, Fall in Extras - Corpus Christi Hooks
- All-Around Production for Travs in Sunday Win - Arkansas Travelers
- Drillers Rally Late, Beat Naturals in Extras - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Travs Hang on for 6-4 Win on Sunday - Springfield Cardinals
- Riders Game Notes - 4:05 p.m. vs. San Antonio Missions - May 22, 2016 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Missions Rally Comes up Short - San Antonio Missions
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