Drillers Hang on to Beat Missions 5-4
Published on May 2, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers' Wyatt Crowell in action
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa OK - The Tulsa Drillers got a big home run from Josue De Paula and strong performances on the pitching mound from Wyatt Crowell and Cam Day on Saturday evening to record their fourth win through five games of a six-game home stand.
De Paula delivered his fifth home run of the season to help stake the Drillers to an early lead, while Crowell shined through the game's first five innings, and Day delivered over the final two frames. The result was a 5-4 win for the Drillers over the San Antonio Missions before another big crowd at ONEOK Field.
The victory improved the Drillers season record to 18-8, including 10-4 at home.
A miscue from the Missions in the bottom of the second inning allowed the Drillers to open the game's scoring. With runners at first and second and one out, Tulsa catcher Frank Rodriguez lofted a fly ball that seemed to be the second out of the inning, but San Antonio right fielder Braedon Karpathios had the ball deflect off his glove for an that error that allowed the first of the game to come home.
Later in the inning, with two outs, the error proved even more costly for the Missions when De Paula lofted a towering fly ball to right field. Off the bat, the fly appeared to be the third out of the inning, but the ball carried out of the reach of Karpathios and landed in the Drillers bullpen beyond the right field for a three-run homer that gave Tulsa a 4-0 lead.
For De Paula, it was his third home run of the season.
Starting pitcher Crowell held San Antonio without a hit through the first three innings before his no-hitter and shutout attempts ended at the same time. The lefthander walked Leandro Cedeno to open the top of the fourth inning before getting a pop out. Luis Verdugo then doubled to deep left-center field, plating Cedeno to cut the lead to 4-1.
The Drillers immediately got the run back in the bottom half of the fourth and another error helped. With one out, Kole Myers reached first via catcher's interference, and after a wild pitch, he scored on Kendall George's ground ball single to left field.
San Antonio did not go away, scoring single runs in both the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Reliever Myles Caba took over for Crowell to open the sixth and Cedeno doubled on his very first pitch. Cedeno would later score on Verdugo's sacrifice fly.
In the seventh, Ethan Salas, who is rated as the #2 prospect in the San Diego Padres minor league farm system, belted a pitch from reliever Michael Hobbs onto the right field grass berm for a solo home run. It was the fifth homer of the year for Salas and cut Tulsa's lead to just 5-3.
The margin was reduced to a single run in the eighth when Verdugo drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Karpathios followed with a base hit. Tulsa manager summoned Cam Day from the bullpen, and he retired Carson Tucker on a fly out with Verdugo tagging and scoring on the play.
The Missions would get no closer. Karpathios was cut down on a perfect throw from catcher Frank Rodriguez on an attempted steal of second. Day then registered a strikeout to end the inning.
Day continued his strong work in the ninth inning, getting a pop up and a ground out before ending the game with a three-pitch strikeout. It was the right-hander's third save of the season.
Day's work preserved the win for Crowell who evened his record at 2-2.
Joe Vetrano slides safely into second with a stolen base during Tulsa's win over San Antonio on Saturday night. The Drillers first baseman is a perfect three for three on steal attempts this season.Tim Campbell
GAME NOTES
*All five runs scored in the game by the Drillers were unearned.
*De Paula's three runs driven in upped his season RBI total to 22 in just 25 games. Six of those RBI have come in the last two games.
*With his fourth-inning single, George has now hit safely in 20 of his 23 games played this season.
*Rodriguez finished 1-4 at the plate and has hit safely in all three games he has played this year.
*Zyhir Hope was also 1-4 and has hit safely in five of his last six games.
*Day has not allowed a run since April 18, a scoreless stretch covering five games and seven innings. He has a 1.98 ERA in 11 total appearances this season.
*Crowell surrendered just one hit and the one run in his five innings of work. The Florida State product walked four and struck out a season high eight batters in the outing.
*Four San Antonio relievers combined to blank the Drillers on just three hits over the final 4.1 innings of the game.
*A paid attendance of 7,631 fans watched the action at ONEOK Field. Over the last two nights, the Drillers have a total attendance of 15,559.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will close out their series with the Missions and their home stand on Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field. First pitch for the finale is set for 1:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
SA - RHP Eric Yost (0-1, 3.50 ERA)
TUL - LHP Adam Serwinowski (1-2, 11.00 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers' Wyatt Crowell in action (Tim Campbell) |
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