TL Tulsa Drillers

Amaya, Pepiot Lead Drillers over Wichita

May 20, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Tulsa Drillers pitcher Ryan Pepiot allowed just one hit in four shutout innings Thursday night
Tulsa Drillers pitcher Ryan Pepiot allowed just one hit in four shutout innings Thursday night
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TULSA - The Tulsa Drillers were limited to only three hits Thursday night in their meeting with the Wichita Wind Surge, but they made the most of them. The Drillers got two of the hits during a three-run third inning, including a home run from Jacob Amaya, and defeated the Wind Surge 4-3 at ONEOK Field. The win was the sixth in the past seven games for the Drillers and their second in the first three games of a six-game series with Wichita.

Starting pitchers Ryan Pepiot and Bryan Simmons cruised through the first 2Â1/2 innings before Sammons ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. The Wichita lefthander's problems began with a one-out walk to Devin Mann. After a pop out, Amaya got the Drillers first hit when he lined an offering from Sammons into the Budweiser Terrace in left field for a two-run homer.

Immediately following the home run, Sammons walked Michael Busch and hit Donovan Casey with a pitch. Kody Hoese grounded a full-count pitch just inside the first base bag, plating Busch to give Tulsa a 3-0 lead.

Pepiot worked four scoreless innings before the Wind Surge got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs off reliever Nick Robertson in the fifth. Robertson walked the first hitter he faced and surrendered a base hit to the second. Andrew Bechtold followed with a ground-rule double that scored Wichita's first run. Jose Miranda brought home the second with an infield ground out, cutting the Drillers lead to 3-2.

It stayed a one-run game until Mann added a valuable insurance run by hitting his second homer of the season leading off the bottom of the eighth.

Wichita did not go quietly and made things uncomfortable for the Drillers in the ninth. Mark Contreras hit the third pitch from Zach Willeman onto the right field concourse to cut the Drillers lead back to a single run.

Jermaine Palacios singled on the next pitch but Willeman settled down and retired the next three hitters to wrap up the victory.

It was Willeman's second save of the season.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

*Pepiot was dominant in his four shutout innings. In his third start of the season, the right-hander allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three. He has worked four innings in each of his starts and has surrendered a total of two runs for a 1.50 ERA.

*Because Pepiot did not work the required five innings, reliever Aaron Ochsenbein was given the victory by the official scorer. Ochsenbein did not allow a hit in two shutout frames. The victory was his first decision of the year.

*First baseman Ryan Noda was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second inning and was replaced by Kenny Betancourt when the Drillers took the field in the top of the third. The pitch appeared to strike Noda near the wrist.

*The game featured only eight total hits and neither team committed an error. It took only 2 hours and 26 minutes to complete, the fastest game of the season.

UP NEXT

Wichita at Tulsa, Thursday, May 20, 7:05 PM at ONEOK Field in the fourth game of their six-game series.

Wichita RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 3.65 ERA) versus Tulsa RHP Gerardo Carrillo (0-0, 5.19 ERA).

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics




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Tulsa Drillers pitcher Ryan Pepiot allowed just one hit in four shutout innings Thursday night
Tulsa Drillers pitcher Ryan Pepiot allowed just one hit in four shutout innings Thursday night
   



Texas League Stories from May 20, 2021


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