Cardinals power past Drillers
April 13, 2006 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
The Springfield Cardinals erupted for 13 hits and 5 home runs Thursday night at Drillers Stadium to defeat the Tulsa Drillers 10-7. The loss dropped the Drillers season record to 5-2.
The power onslaught by the Cardinals continued an early-season trend against Tulsa pitching. The Drillers staff has now allowed 18 home runs in only 7 games.
The two teams traded runs early in Thursday's slugfest. In the bottom of the first, Seth Smith's sacrifice fly brought home Troy Tulowitzki, who had doubled, to open the game's scoring.
A 2-run homer by Cody Haerther off Juan Morillo put the Cardinals in front in the second inning.
The Drillers retook the lead with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the second, but a solo homer by Reid Gorecki in the top of the third tied the score at 3-3.
Rico Washington gave the Cards their first lead with a leadoff home run in the fourth. It was Washington's third homer of the series. Haerther followed with a single and then later scored on a base hit by Iker Franco to put Springfield in front 5-3.
Tulsa tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth on a 2-run homer by Matt Macri, his first of the season. But, the Cardinals took the lead for good with a 3-run fifth. Haerther provided a run-scoring double, and Matt Dryer added a 2-run home run to put Springfield up 8-5.
A solo home run by Joe Gaetti to begin the bottom of the fifth cut the lead to 8-6, but another 2-run homer in the seventh, this time by Franco, pushed the Cardinals lead to 10-6.
The Drillers closed the scoring in the eighth inning as Doug Bernier tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tulowitzki.
Haerther and Stavinoha both finished with three hits to lead the Cardinals attack, while Haerther and Franco each added three runs batted in.
Smith, Macri and Ian Stewart all collected two hits for the Drillers.
Springfield starter Chris Lambert gained his first win of the season, while Alberto Arias suffered the loss in relief of starter Juan Morillo. Arias allowed three runs in two innings of work. It was the first runs he had surrendered this season.
Steve Colyer allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched for Tulsa. Colyer joined the Drillers earlier in the day to replace Jim Miller who was placed on the disabled list. Colyer has pitched in the majors with both the Tigers and the Dodgers.
Tulsa and Springfield will meet again on Friday night at Drillers Stadium. Stuart Pomeranz (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will pitch for the Cardinals against Marc Kaiser (0-0, 4.50 ERA) of the Drillers. Starting time will be 7:05PM.
NOTE: The promotion for Friday's game will be free T-shirts to the first 1,000 fans. The Scott Podsednik bobblehead giveaway, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed and will be rescheduled for later in the season.
• Discuss this story on the Texas League message board...
Texas League Stories from April 13, 2006
- Cardinals power past Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Pence delivers big, again - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Cards Hit 5 Homers In 10-7 Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Wranglers roster changes - Wichita Wranglers
- Wranglers Hold On For 7-6 Win Over Travs - Arkansas Travelers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
