Drillers Fall to Naturals in Extras
May 14, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa, OK - Tuesday's series opener at ONEOK Field between the Tulsa Drillers and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals took nearly four hours to complete, with the Drillers unable to hold a late lead. The Naturals rallied from four runs down and tied the game in the ninth to send the game to extras. The two teams matched each other with three-run tenth innings, but in the eleventh, Tulsa could not answer the Naturals final two runs, giving the Drillers a 10-8 loss.
The night began great for Chris Campos, who entered Tuesday with the lowest ERA amongst Drillers starting pitchers. Campos retired the first seven batters he faced before a walk, a single and a sacrifice bunt allowed the Naturals to take a 1-0 lead.
Tulsa matched the Naturals in the bottom half of the third inning when a single, a double and a walk set up Damon Keith's RBI single.
Tulsa rallied with two outs in the fourth to take the lead. With two runners on base, Sean McLain drove in the Drillers second run with a single. Taylor Young added three more with his first home run of the year to give the Drillers a 5-1 lead.
Following his one run allowed in the third, Campos retired seven of the ten batters he faced before his night ended after a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. Ronan Kopp took over for Campos, and Northwest Arkansas drew a second walk before a two-run single made it 5-3.
In the seventh inning, Carter Jensen's RBI single reduced the Drillers lead to one run.
Tulsa's third error of the game helped the Naturals tie the game in the ninth inning. With one out, Javier Vaz drew a walk and reached third base by stealing second and advancing on Griffin Lockwood-Powell's throwing error. Vaz scored on Jensen's single to tie the game at 5-5.
In the tenth, Northwest Arkansas used a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to score the placed runner. A passed ball and a single allowed two more runs to score and give the Naturals an 8-5 lead.
The Drillers kept fighting in their half of the tenth as they responded to tie the game. John Rhodes drove in Tulsa's first run since the fourth inning with his RBI double. Ezequiel Pagan was next and he singled to bring the Drillers within one run. After McLain drew a walk, Young appeared to have won the game with his double to right field. The ball unfortunately bounced over the right field wall for a ground-rule double, allowing just one run to score and tie the game at 8-8.
Northwest Arkansas scored the game's final two runs in the 11th inning on a sacrifice fly and Spencer Nivens' RBI single before the Drillers were retired in order to end the game.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Tuesday night was the fifth game this season where Campos worked into the sixth inning. He was charged with two runs on two hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
*It marked the 13th game Tulsa has lost after holding a lead.
*Young's third inning walk upped his on-base streak to 15 straight games. The walk was also his fifth consecutive game with a walk.
*Rhodes led the Drillers, finishing 3-4 with a walk, a run scored, and a run driven in.
*Reliever Brandon Neeck was charged with the loss. His record is now 1-2 for the season.
*Lucas Wepf was the lone Drillers pitcher not charged with a run.
*Tulsa's three errors raised their season total to 46, the most in Double A.
*The two teams combined to strand 24 runners on base.
*Northwest Arkansas stole eight bases in the game, with four coming in the tenth inning.
*The game took 3 hours and 59 minutes to complete.
UP NEXT
Tulsa and Northwest Arkansas will continue their series on Wednesday morning at ONEOK Field. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and the pitching matchup will be:
NWA - RHP Ben Kudrna (0-3, 6.75 ERA)
Tulsa - RHP Jared Karros (1-2, 7.82 ERA)
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- Tulsa Bullpen Shines in Bounce-Back Victory - Tulsa Drillers
- Late Inning Swing Hurts Soddies on Wednesday - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Church, Davis, Mendoza Homer in Comeback Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Kevin Pillar Expected to Rehab in Frisco - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Fall to Naturals in Extras - Tulsa Drillers
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