Drillers Comeback Falls Short in Home Stand Finale
Published on May 3, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Kyle Nevin of the Tulsa Drillers (right) high fives Zyhir Hope
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa OK - Another winning home stand for the Tulsa Drillers concluded with a loss Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field. The Drillers fell into a six-run deficit in the series finale with San Antonio, but rallied late to tie the score. The comeback eventually fell short as San Antonio responded with what proved to be the winning run in the eighth inning, giving the Missions an 8-7 victory over the Drillers.
Despite the loss, the Drillers claimed another series win with four victories in the six-game matchup. Tulsa has now won all three series it has played at ONEOK Field and has yet to lose a series this season.
Overall, the Drillers have an 18-9 record.
The series with the Missions drew a paid attendance total of 34,528. It is the highest attendance for a series at ONEOK Field in the first month of a season since Minor League Baseball went to the six-game series schedule in 2021.
The finale began with a scoreless first inning, but Tulsa starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski ran into trouble in the second. Tirso Ornelas led off and drove a 3-1 pitch well beyond the right field fence and onto the grass berm for his fourth homer of the season.
Later in the second, three singles, a wild pitch and a walk gave the Missions another run and a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, a walk and a hit batter set up an RBI single from Braedon Karpathios that increased the San Antonio lead to 3-0.
The Drillers were held without a hit through the first four innings by San Antonio starter Eric Yost, but they were still able to generate a run in the bottom of the third. Two walks and a hit batter from Yost set up a fielder's choice ground out from Kendall George that scored Tulsa's first run.
Joe Ibarra took over Serwinowski to open the fourth and the Missions added three more runs. After retiring the inning's leadoff batter, Ibarra issued consecutive walks and Leandro Cedéno brought them both home with his third homer of the season.
Walks continued to plague Tulsa pitchers as reliever Maddux Bruns walked four batters in the sixth to force in the seventh run for San Antonio.
Trailing 7-1, the Drillers started a comeback in the bottom half of the sixth. Solo homers from Kyle Nevin and Elijah Hainline began things. Later in the inning, Chris Newell singled before a pair of walks loaded the bases. Sean McLain collected a hard-earned RBI when he was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.
Tulsa put together its second straight three-run inning in the seventh. Three straight singles from Josue De Paula, Nevin and Zyhir Hope generated the first run.
Following a walk to Hainline that loaded the bases, two errors on one soft ground ball gave the Drillers two runs that tied the score at 7-7. The miscues came on a grounder from Newell that traveled about 70 feet. Missions' first baseman Romeo Sanabria mishandled the grounder for the first error before his attempted throw with his glove flew wildly for a second error. Two Tulsa runners crossed the plate on the pair of miscues, tying the game.
With two runners still on base, and the potential go-ahead run at third, the Drillers missed a golden opportunity to take the lead. Three straight strikeouts ended the threat and kept the score tied.
The Missions wasted little time in retaking the lead in the top of the eighth. With two outs and the bases empty, Romeo Sanabria singled off Evan Shaw and Ornelas followed with a run-scoring double.
It proved to be the game-winning blow.
Tulsa's only base runner over the final two innings came when Newell walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He moved into scoring position with a steal of second base, but Missions' reliever Johan Moreno induced a game-ending ground out from Griffin Lockwood-Powell.
Tulsa reliever Kelvin Ramirez retired all five batters he faced in Sunday's loss to San Antonio.Tim Campbell
GAME NOTES
*It was the final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Drillers won six of the nine games, with all them taking place ONEOK Field.
*Serwinowski suffered the loss, dropping his record to 1-2. The lefthander was charged with three runs on six hits and two walks in his three innings. Serwinowski threw 72 total pitches, 41 for strikes.
*The two pitching staffs combined to issue 15 walks while also hitting three batters with pitches.
*Christian Suarez was a bright spot on the mound for Tulsa, recording the final four outs with three coming on strikeouts.
*The sixth-inning home runs from Nevin and Hainline were the fourth of the season for both.
*Tulsa batters struck out 15 times in the game.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will take Monday off before opening a six-game series on Tuesday evening in Little Rock against the Arkansas Travelers. The series opener is scheduled to begin at 6:05 p.m. at Dickey-Stephens Park and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL - TBA
ARK - RHP Michael Morales (1-1, 3.79 ERA)
Images from this story
 Kyle Nevin of the Tulsa Drillers (right) high fives Zyhir Hope (Tim Campbell) |
Texas League Stories from May 3, 2026
- Soddies Conclude Historic 12-Game Road Trip with Doubleheader Split - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Pineda Homers, Nats' Five-Game Win Streak Snapped - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Frisco Falls in Finale to Hooks - Frisco RoughRiders
- Cards Top Nats in Sunday Thriller to Snap Skid - Springfield Cardinals
- Missions Pull out Wild 8-7 Victory in Series Finale from Tulsa - San Antonio Missions
- Drillers Comeback Falls Short in Home Stand Finale - Tulsa Drillers
- Travelers Take Series Finale from Wind Surge 8-4 - Wichita Wind Surge
- Travs Close out Series Win in Wichita with 8-4 Triumph - Arkansas Travelers
- Wagner Homers Twice in Riders Win - Corpus Christi Hooks
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.
