Drillers Outscore Travelers 11-9
Published on April 23, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
The first two innings of Wednesday's meeting between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers more resembled a basketball game than a baseball match up, with the two teams trading scores. The Drillers finally delivered the big shot with a five-run second inning that propelled them to an 11-8 victory.
The scoring barrage began with Arkansas plating two runs in the top of the first inning with the benefit of a pair of Drillers errors. After Coby Smith and Hainley Statia began the game with consecutive singles, Michael Collins and Corey Smith both reached on errors by Tulsa second baseman Eric Young Jr. Ben Johnson lined out for the first out of the game, but Adam Morrissey walked to force in a second run. Drillers starting pitcher Xavier Cedeno escaped further damage by getting the next two hitters on a pop out and a ground out.
Tulsa responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first. With two outs and the bases empty, Chris Nelson doubled and scored on Matt Miller's second homer of the season that tied the game at 2-2.
The Travs scored three times in the top of the second. The uprising began with Ryan Leahy reaching on an error by third baseman Jeff Dragicevich. Following a single by Coby Smith, Leahy scored on a ground out by Statia to put Arkansas back in front.
The inning continued as Collins brought Coby Smith home with a triple off the left-center field wall, then scored himself on a base hit by Corey Smith.
Again, the Drillers quickly answered. Jeff Kindel began the bottom of the second with a double and moved to third on a hit by Justin Nelson. Dragicevich cleared the bases with his second homer of the season that tied the game at 5-5.
Tulsa's big inning did not end there. Travs starter Anthony Ortega got the next two hitters, but three straight doubles by Dexter Fowler, Nelson and Miller brought home two more runs to give the Drillers a 7-5 lead.
Cedeno settled in with the lead, keeping the Travs off the scoreboard over the next four innings, while the Drillers offense gave him even more of a cushion with a run in the fourth and three more in the sixth.
Young produced the run in the fourth inning. Following a walk, he stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nelson.
In the sixth, Brian Esposito belted a two-run homer, his second of the year. Another sacrifice fly, this one by Miller, scored Young again to make it 11-5.
The Travelers ended Tulsa's streak of nine straight runs on a two-run homer by Cody Fuller in the eighth. They added another run later in the inning, then made things interesting the ninth. After walking Corey Smith to begin the ninth, Tulsa reliever Ryan Mattheus got two groundball outs, but former teammate Jordan Czarniecki pulled the Travs to within 11-9 with a run-scoring double. The Drillers escaped when, representing the tying run, Fuller grounded out to first to end the game.
The high-scoring game produced some big numbers. The five errors committed by Tulsa were a season high, and the 11 runs matched the most scored this year.
Four different Drillers players finished with two hits. One of them was Miller, who extended his hitting streak to eight games. He also added four runs batted in.
Nelson was 2-4 with two runs scored, two doubles and two runs batted in.
Cedeno (3-1) became the team's first three-game winner with the victory, while Mattheus picked up his second save of the season.
With the win, the Drillers moved back into sole possession of first place in the North Division standings, one game in front of the Travelers.
Tulsa and Arkansas will conclude their four-game set Thursday night with Luis Santiago (0-0, 4.50 ERA) pitching for the Drillers against Bobby Mosebach (2-0, 2.33 ERA) of the Travs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05PM.
Texas League Stories from April 23, 2008
- Hounds Take a Bite out of the Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Sloppy Drillers Outslug Travs 11-9 - Arkansas Travelers
- Drillers Outscore Travelers 11-9 - Tulsa Drillers
- Wednesday Night's Game vs. Springfield Rained Out - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Double-Header Thursday in Springdale - Springfield Cardinals
- Cortes placed on DL, Hayes promoted from Wilmington - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Hooks Face RockHounds Tonight - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Hooks Take the Long Way Home - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Cards Rally for 14-Inning Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals Work Overtime, Come up Short - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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.
