Drillers Win on Berman's Walk-Off Hit
May 21, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
The Tulsa Drillers celebrate with hero Stevie Berman as he delivered the walk-off hit Friday night
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa- For the second straight game Friday night, the Tulsa Drillers made the most of their offensive opportunities. One night after winning with only five hits, the Drillers did it again thanks to a walk-off hit. Steve Berman's two-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Drillers their second straight 4-3 win over Wichita. It was the first walk-off win of the season for Tulsa .
The winning rally began with two outs and the bases empty when Devin Mann worked a walk. Berman quickly fell into a 0-2 hole before lifting a fly ball to deep right-center field. The ball dropped between two converging outfielders, just short of the warning track, and allowed Mann to race home with the game-winning run.
The win was the seventh in the past eight games for the Drillers. The past two wins have each come by a single run and have occurred despite Tulsa totaling a combined ten hits in the two games.
Tulsa starting pitcher Gerardo Carrillo turned in a solid outing, but his wildness helped Wichita open the game's scoring in the top of the third inning. Carrillo hit the inning's leadoff batter and walked the second. With one out, Mark Contreras delivered a run-scoring single to put the Wind Surge in front.
It would be the only run against Carrillo, and the Drillers used a two-run fourth to go in front. After Michael Busch led off with a base hit, Donovan Casey reached on an infield single, and when Wichita third baseman Jose Miranda's throw to first was wild, the two runners advanced to second and third. Ryan Noda dropped a base hit into shallow left-centerfield that scored both Busch and Casey to put Tulsa on top 2-1.
Control issues cost the Drillers again in the sixth inning. Tulsa reliever Guillermo Zuniga surrendered a base hit and walk before being replaced by Bryan Warzek. The lefthander walked the first two batters he faced to force home the tying run before an infield single by Gilberto Celestino plated another run that gave Wichita a 3-2 lead.
Tulsa scored one run in the seventh to tie the game, but missed an opportunity for more. The first three batters in the inning reached safely on an error, a walk and a hit batter. Kody Hoese came home on Mann's sacrifice fly to make it 3-3. With runners at first and third, the threat ended when Berman hit into an inning-ending double play, but Berman redeemed himself with his second opportunity by producing the game winner in the bottom of the ninth.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
*Carrillo produced the longest outing of the season for a Drillers starting pitcher, recording one out in the fifth inning before departing. He was charged with one run on three hits and two walks while recording six strikeouts. Carrillo also hit two batters and delivered a wild pitch. He has now hit 5 batters this season in 13 innings of work. He also has 22 strikeouts
*Reliever Justin Hagenman got one out in the eighth inning and worked a scoreless ninth inning to claim the victory. For Hagenman, it was his third win of the season, tying him for second most in all of Minor League Baseball.
*After surrendering the two initial walks, Warzek pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
*Jeren Kendall stole his team-leading fourth base of the season in the win.
*The two teams combined for 27 strikeouts in the game.
*The victory moved the Drillers into a second-place tie with Wichita in the North Division of the Double-A Central. The two teams have identical 9-7 records.
UP NEXT
Wichita at Tulsa, Saturday, May 22, 7:05 PM at ONEOK Field in the fifth game of their six-game series.
Wichita RHP Chris Vallomont (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus Tulsa RHP Andre Jackson (0-0, 3.75 ERA).
Images from this story
 The Tulsa Drillers celebrate with hero Stevie Berman as he delivered the walk-off hit Friday night (Tim Campbell) |
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