Drillers Late Rally Falls Short in 6-5 Loss
June 19, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers pitcher Brandon Neeck
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa, OK - The Tulsa Drillers rough stretch in June continued on Thursday night at ONEOK Field. After the Drillers took an early lead in the first inning, the Midland RockHounds responded with four runs in the third and two in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead. The Drillers made things interesting by scoring four runs in the eighth inning to make it a one-run game. They put the potential tying run on base to begin the ninth, but following two flyouts, Midland pitcher Shohei Tomioka made a spectacular catch on a hard line drive to end the game and give the Drillers a 6-5 defeat.
Tulsa's early lead came when Taylor Young started the night with a leadoff walk, and after he advanced to third base on a pickoff error, Damon Keith scored him with a sacrifice fly.
Midland took the lead with four runs in the top of third by earning four singles, a double and stole two bases to gain a 4-1 lead.
A walk and a hit batter led to the RockHounds scoring two more runs in the fifth inning, with both base runners scoring on Junior Perez's double.
The Drillers offense went six innings without a run before the rally in the eighth inning. Young began the eighth with a double, and after two walks, Jose Ramos hit a sacrifice fly to score Tulsa's second run. A third walk loaded the bases again, and Kendall Simmons cleared them with a three-run double to left field that cut the deficit to just 6-5.
The Drillers battled until the last out as Sean McLain drew a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the ninth. The next two batters, Young and Ezequiel Pagan, each flew out on hard-hit balls. Keith was the final out when he hit a hard line drive right back at pitcher Tomioka, who caught the comebacker for the final out of the game.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The Springfield Cardinals clinched the first-half title in the Texas League North Division with a win on Thursday night. Midland is still in contention for the South Division first-half title and is only a half game back from first-place Frisco.
*Tulsa lefthander Brandon Neeck made his first professional start in a bullpen game on Thursday night, and he pitched much better than his final line. He exited the game with two runners on base, with both eventually scoring. Before his departure, he struck out five Midland batters and did not issue a walk in 2.1 innings. Neeck was charged with his third loss of the season.
*Griffin Lockwood-Powell increased his on-base streak to 23 straight games by earning two walks. It is currently the longest active on-base streak in the Texas League.
*Robinson Ortiz made his Double A debut for the Drillers in the game and allowed one run on one hit and a walk with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched.
*Young continued his hot streak in June. He finished the night 2-3 with a walk to bring him to 20-59 (.339) in June to lead the team. His average also is the fourth highest in the Texas League for the month.
*The Drillers rebranded as the "T" Town Clowns for the game in a tribute to Tulsa's semi-pro Negro league team. They will play as the Clowns through the weekend.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will continue their series with RockHounds, playing the fourth game of the six-game set on Friday night at ONEOK Field. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
Midland - RHP Yunior Tur (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tulsa - RHP Peter Heubeck (1-3, 4.43 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers pitcher Brandon Neeck (Tim Campbell) |
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