Drillers Hot Start Continues with Big Win over Travs
Published on April 19, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Jake Gelof of the Tulsa Drillers
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa OK - The Tulsa Drillers wrapped up their third straight series victory on Sunday afternoon with an 11-3 win over Arkansas at ONEOK Field. The Drillers have now won each of their first three series to open the season while recording an 11-4 overall record. It is the best beginning to a season for Tulsa since 1996 when manager Bobby Jones led the Drillers to a 13-4 start.
The win was fueled by a big day at the plate from Zyhir Hope. The number 2 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system according to MLB Pipeline, went 4-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two runs driven in.
Sunday's victory was not all positive for the Drillers as they lost a pair of players to apparent leg injuries. In the top of the third inning, second baseman Yeiner Fernandez went down when trying to track down a fly ball in shallow centerfield. Starting pitcher Luke Fox departed after grabbing the back of his left leg following his first pitch in the fifth inning.
Tulsa took an early lead in the game and never surrendered it. The first run of the afternoon came in the bottom of the second when Joe Vetrano drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a base hit from Jake Gelof and eventually scored on a two-single from Kendall George.
The Drillers plated three more runs in the third inning. Kyle Nevin and Hope opened the inning with consecutive singles. With the runners at first and second, Griffin Lockwood-Powell hit a fly ball to deep right-center field that Travs centerfielder Jared Sundstrom tracked down on the warning track. As Sundstrom's momentum carried him into the outfield fence, a hustling Nevin was able to score all the way from second on what became a sacrifice fly for Lockwood-Powell.
Later in the third, the red-hot Gelof belted a towering drive that cleared the Country Financial Terrace in left field for a two-run homer and a 4-0 Drillers lead.
The Drillers added another run in the bottom of the fifth when Hope led off with his third hit of the game and later came home on Elijah Hainline's.
Travelers got on the scoreboard with a run against Lucas Wepf in the top of the sixth, but the Drillers put the victory away with four more runs in the bottom half of the inning.
George led off with a base hit, and after his third stolen base of the day, he came home on a single from Josue De Paula. Nevin plated De Paula with a double before Hope cleared the bases with a two-run, opposite-field homer, his third of the season, and it bumped the lead to 9-1.
Fox's injury put an end to what had been a fantastic start. He had cruised through the first four innings, allowing just one hit while blanking the Travs. That hit, a leadoff double from Lazaro Montes in the second, accounted for the only baserunner against Fox who struck out six.
Maddux Bruns took over for the injured Fox and kept the Travelers scoreless in that fifth inning to collect his first win of the season.
GAME NOTES
*Fox was able to walk off the field following his injury, but Fernandez had to leave with the help of an electric cart. There was no word on the extent of their injuries immediately after the game.
*The four shutout innings for Fox lowered his season ERA to 2.29.
Ryan Fox delivered four shutout innings on Sunday afternoon before departing with a leg issue. Fox lowered his season ERA to 2.29 with the outing.Rich Crimi
*Gelof finished with two hits, capping off a big three-day stretch for the infielder. He opened the season by going 0-18 in his first six games this year, but followed that stretch by going 6-10 in his last four games against the Travelers. The six hits included a game-winning, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth of Friday's win.
*George suffered his first caught stealing of the season when he was picked off first base in the first inning and was eventually tagged out after a brief rundown. Despite that setback, the speedy outfielder accumulated three steals in the game, his second three-steal game of the season, and he is now 11 for 12 on stolen base attempts. He reached base five times on Sunday with two hits and three walks.
*It was the fifth four-hit game of Hope's professional career.
*The Drillers final two runs of the game came on a two-run single by Sean McLain in the eighth inning. It was the only hit in the game for the shortstop despite hitting the ball hard on three other occasions.
*Nevin had one RBI in the game and now has 15 RBI in 15 games this season.
*The 11 runs for the Drillers were just one off their season high as were their 14 hits.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will be idle on Monday before beginning a six-game series in Frisco, Texas against the RoughRiders on Tuesday afternoon. Game time for the opener will be 12:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL - LHP Adam Serwinowski (0-2, 18.00 ERA)
FRI -
Images from this story
 Jake Gelof of the Tulsa Drillers (Tim Campbell) |
Texas League Stories from April 19, 2026
- Riders Split Series After Sunday Loss in Amarillo - Frisco RoughRiders
- Sod Poodles Secure Series Split with RoughRiders - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- Tulsa Tops Travs to Take Series - Arkansas Travelers
- Drillers Hot Start Continues with Big Win over Travs - Tulsa Drillers
- San Antonio Blanked by Midland in Sunday Finale - San Antonio Missions
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