Drillers Drop 14-Inning Affair with Travelers 4-3
Published on June 19, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
A four-hour thirty-seven minute ball game in North Little Rock on Saturday evening left the Drillers on the wrong side of the scoreboard, dropping to 1.5 games behind the Springfield Cardinals in the North Division standings following the 4-3 loss to the Arkansas Travelers.
After entering the game in the 9th inning to replace Andrew Toles, Adam Law hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 11th inning to bring Jordan Tarsovich across to give the Drillers a 2-1 lead. Calhoun followed with an RBI single of his own, his second RBI of the night.
The RBI was Calhoun's 49th on the season, second in the Texas league to only Frisco's Ryan Cordell who has 50. It was also his 11th RBI in his last 8 ballgames.
The see-saw battle wouldn't end there, as Travelers DH Jabari Henry launched his third home run of the series in the bottom half of the 11th inning with two outs and a runner on to tie the game back up 3-3.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the 14th inning. After allowing the first two runners to reach base, Travelers third baseman Angel Rosa moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.
After a mound visit from catcher Paul Hoenecke, the Drillers were going to intentionally walk Anthony Phillips to load the bases with only one out. Phillips never got that walk, as the first pitch from Kyle Hooper was a wild pitch that allowed the Travelers winning run to score.
Trevor Oaks (8-1, 2.14 ERA) spun another gem in for Tulsa in his 10th start on the season. Coming into the game, in his 9 starts for Tulsa, Oaks had earned a decision in each appearance. That was not the case tonight.
Coming into the game, Oaks had only allowed 14 runs in his 9 starts for Tulsa, with 9 of those runs coming in three starts against these Arkansas Travelers. He had a 2-1 record in those three starts.
The only blemish on Oaks record this evening came in the fifth inning, where he the Travelers strung together three of the four hits they mustered off Oaks on the night.
After inducing a double play to with two on and no one out, Travelers shortstop Anthony Phillips slapped a single up the middle just under Oaks' glove to score the Travelers sole run on the night, tying the game at 1.
On the flip side, the 1-2 punch at the top of the Drillers order of Andrew Toles and Willie Calhoun connected early on Saturday night. Toles stayed red-hot at the plate with a lead-off single to start the game off Travelers starter Zach Nuding (1-1, 2.41 ERA).
Toles has raised his season batting average from .262 on June 10th to .306 after going 16-32 over the last 8 games.
Calhoun wasted no time plating Toles, lacing a double to right-center field, giving the Drillers the early 1-0 lead. This would be the only run the Drillers would score until the 11th inning.
Tulsa missed several opportunities to take a lead in this game, leaving 16 men on base over the course of the night. That includes leaving the bases loaded in the 7th inning, and 6 runners on base in extra innings.
Tulsa got three solid innings of relief from Michael Johnson and Ralston Cash. Between them, they allowed no runs, one hits, one walk, and struck out four.
The Drillers return home tomorrow for a Father's Day affair with the Springfield Cardinals with playoff implications. Springfield leads Tulsa by a half-game heading into the 1:05PM game Sunday afternoon. Tulsa will need to defeat Springfield on Sunday and on Monday in order to secure the Texas League's first-half North Division title. The Drillers will send Tim Shibuya (0-2, 2.56 ERA) to the hill to take on Springfield, who will counter with J.C. Sulbaran (0-0, 7.71 ERA).
Texas League Stories from June 19, 2016
- Yuhl Logs Fifth Consecutive Win - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Rough Start Dooms San Antonio in Opener - San Antonio Missions
- Early Hole Too Much to Overcome for San Antonio in Opener - San Antonio Missions
- A RockHounds Father's Day Gift Set - Midland RockHounds
- Travelers Defeat Naturals in Series Opener - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Arkansas 7-2 in Last Nine After Sunday Win - Arkansas Travelers
- Griffin Finds Groove, But Riders Fall in Extras - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Fall to Cardinals 5-2 - Tulsa Drillers
- Cardinals Win 1st Half North Division Championship with 5-2 Victory in Tulsa - Springfield Cardinals
- Missions Bullpen Blows It in Late Innings - San Antonio Missions
- Missions Fall in the 12th - San Antonio Missions
- Missions Can't Break Through in Corpus - San Antonio Missions
- Missions Shutout in Rain Shortened Game - San Antonio Missions
- Hooks Slug Missions 8-1 - San Antonio Missions
- Riders Game Notes - 2:00 p.m. at Midland RockHounds - June 19, 2016 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Drop 14-Inning Affair with Travelers 4-3 - Tulsa Drillers
- Big Seventh Catapults Hooks over Riders - Corpus Christi Hooks
- RockHounds Nick-Ed by Missions - Midland RockHounds
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.
