TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Drillers Win First Game

Published on April 7, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Cristian Santana makes the throw to first for the out after snagging a sharp ground ball in the Tulsa Drillers 3-2 victory over the Arkansas Travelers
Cristian Santana makes the throw to first for the out after snagging a sharp ground ball in the Tulsa Drillers 3-2 victory over the Arkansas Travelers
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)

TULSA, OK - The Tulsa Drillers picked up their first win of the season Sunday afternoon and avoided a season-opening series sweep at the hands of the Arkansas Travelers. Protecting a slim one-run lead, the Drillers had to escape a ninth-inning jam as the Travs made things interesting by advancing the tying run to third base. But, Michael Boyle registered a huge strikeout to escape the jam and secure a narrow 3-2 victory at ONEOK Field.

Boyle got the final two outs in the eighth inning, and was summoned back to the mound for the ninth. After getting a quick out, he surrendered a one-out single to Jordan Cowan to put the tying run on base. Boyle got a second out, then allowed another single to put runners at the corners. After a mound visit, Boyle secured his first save of the season after striking out Donnie Walton on a called third strike.

After dropping the first three games to the Travs, the Drillers salvaged the series finale to start the season 1-3.

Tulsa took an early lead in the bottom of the first. Omar Estevez set the table with a leadoff single up. Cristian Santana then ripped his first double of the season to plate Estevez, giving Tulsa a 1-0 lead.

Three Drillers pitchers kept the Travelers bats at bay for seven innings. Mitchell White got the start on the mound, and gave his team three scoreless innings of work. Louis Head made his Drillers debut and worked 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Zach McKinstry hit a liner that snuck under the sliding right fielder's glove and rolled to the wall, allowing McKinstry to reach third with a triple. Logan Landon then came through with a single to bring home another Drillers run. Estevez followed by roping a double into the left-center gap for his first RBI of the season, giving Tulsa a 3-0 lead.

After being shut down for seven innings, the Arkansas bats woke up in the top of the eighth to make things interesting. With a runner on third, Kyle Lewis homered to left and narrowed the Travs deficit to 3-2.

WHAT YOU MISSED

*Estevez has started the season with four straight multi-hit games. He leads the team with nine hits and a .529 batting average.

*Early in the game, Santana made a stellar defensive play from third base. He dove toward the line to snag a sharp ground ball, then sitting down, made a strong throw to first to get the runner at first.

*McKinstry stole his first base of the season in the fifth inning to add to his productive day.

UP NEXT: Springfield at Tulsa, Monday, April 8, 11:05 AM at ONEOK Field. LHP Austin Warner (First Appearance) vs. RHP Justin De Fratus (First Appearance).

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Images from this story

Cristian Santana makes the throw to first for the out after snagging a sharp ground ball in the Tulsa Drillers 3-2 victory over the Arkansas Travelers
Cristian Santana makes the throw to first for the out after snagging a sharp ground ball in the Tulsa Drillers 3-2 victory over the Arkansas Travelers
(Rich Crimi)		   



Texas League Stories from April 7, 2019


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