TL1 Springfield Cardinals

Cards Strike Early and Hang on for 6-4 Win in Tulsa

Published on May 7, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release


Tulsa, OK - The Springfield Cardinals scored six runs through the first four innings to take the series opener against the Tulsa Drillers, 6-4, before 7,325 fans at ONEOK Field on Saturday night. With the win, Springfield maintains its 1.5-game lead over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for 1st place in the North Division.

Cardinals CF Harrison Bader and 3B Paul DeJong both extended hitting streaks on Saturday. Bader singled in the fourth inning to extend his streak to 10 games, during which he has gone 21-for-45 (.467). DeJong notched an RBI single in the fourth as well, extending his streak to eight games, going 13-for-31 (.419) with five homers during that stretch.

The Cardinals (16-13) jumped in front in the top of the first inning against RHP Chris Anderson (L, 2-2). 2B Bruce Caldwell extended the stanza with a two-out walk, before racing home on an RBI double from 1B Luke Voit for the 1-0 lead.

Springfield doubled the advantage in the second. C Carson Kelly was hit by a pitch to open the inning, before scoring all the way from first base on an RBI double by SS Alex Mejia to make it 2-0.

The Cardinals continued the attack in the third. Caldwell and Voit worked back-to-back, one-out walks to get two men on. One out later, a single from Kelly loaded the bases, followed by an RBI base hit from Mejia, plating Caldwell for the 3-0 advantage.

Springfield scored for the fourth straight frame to start the contest, adding three runs in the top of the fourth. With one down, Bader singled and LF C.J. McElroy, Jr. walked, putting runners at first and second. After a strikeout, Voit, DeJong and Kelly connected on three consecutive two-out RBI singles, extending the Cardinals lead to 6-0.

Meanwhile, RHP Trey Nielsen (W, 3-2) stifled the Drillers (10-18) bats through his first four scoreless innings. After stranding a pair in the first and second, Nielsen needed only 12 pitches to navigate through perfect frames in the third and fourth.

Nielsen extended a consecutive outs streak to 10 straight batters by retiring the first two in the bottom of the fifth, but then the Drillers broke through. 2B Brandon Trinkwon extended the inning with a two-out single, followed by a base hit from CF Andrew Toles. C Kyle Farmer then got the Drillers on the board with an RBI double to left field, chipping the Cardinals lead to 6-1.

The Drillers added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth, but Nielsen closed his final frame with no further damage, allowing just the two tallies (one earned) through six innings on the mound.

RHP Chris Perry followed by striking out the side in a perfect seventh, before RHP John Brebbia dealt with a 1-2-3 eighth.

Tulsa, however, refused to go down quietly, plating a pair in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-hitting 1B Lars Anderson opened the final frame with a walk against RHP Ronnie Shaban. LF Devan Ahart then lined a two-run shot to right field, cutting the Cardinals lead to just two runs. Shaban, though, battled back by retiring the next three Drillers in a row, closing the 6-4 win for the Cardinals.

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Texas League Stories from May 7, 2016


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