Ninth Inning Home Run Stuns Drillers
May 23, 2011 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
In a matter of minutes Monday afternoon, the Tulsa Drillers experienced an emotional rollercoaster ride at ONEOK Field. Trailing by a single run as they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Drillers rallied for an apparent victory by scoring three times to take a two-run lead. A few minutes later that jubilation turned to heartbreak when Springfield's Alex Castellanos belted a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give the Cardinals an 8-7 win.
It was the second tough loss in a row for the Drillers. On Sunday, they lost in 12 innings to the Redbirds.
The defeat also cost Tulsa sole possession of first-place in the North Division standings. The Drillers fell into a virtual tie with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals who were again rained out on Monday.
Down 5-4, the Drillers rallied to take their first lead of the game with their three-run eighth. Warren Schaeffer led off with a double, and Mike Mitchell followed with a base hit. Tim Wheeler tied the game with lined single into right field that scored Schaeffer, and Hector Gomez put Tulsa in front with another base hit.
Springfield called on reliever Sam Freeman from the bullpen, and Ben Paulsen greeted him with a single to right field. Wheeler scored on the hit give Tulsa a 7-5 lead, but Gomez ran through manager Duane Espy's stop sign at third and was eventually tagged out by catcher Audry Perez.
The Drillers called on closer Adam Jorgenson to pitch the ninth, and Jose Garcia opened the inning with a soft double that landed just inside the right field foul line. After a pop out, the dangerous Matt Adams bounced a chopper over the head of Jorgenson for an infield hit that left runners at first and third and brought Castellanos to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, the centerfielder reached out a drove a low pitch onto the terrace in left field for a three-run homer that put the Cardinals in front 8-7.
In the bottom of the ninth, Brian Rike led off with single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Thomas Field. But Nick Greenwood dashed the hopes of another comeback by retiring Schaeffer on a ground out and pinch-hitter Darin Holcomb on a fly out that ended the game.
The homer by Castellanos was his first hit of the game, but it capped a big series for the 24-year-old. In the four games, he batted .500 with 9 hits in 18 at-bats. It was his second home run of the series.
For Jorgenson, it was his second straight blown save after opening the season by converting his first nine save opportunities.
A recent trend continued at the start of the games, as the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead for the third time in the four-game set. After a scoreless first inning, they scored twice in the second off of Aaron Cook as Eric Duncan led off with a base hit, and Audry Perez followed with his first homer of the season.
The Cards doubled their lead with two more runs in the third when the first three batters hit safely. Garcia led off with a base hit and scored on a triple by Jermaine Curtis. Adams plated Curtis with a lined single to right field that made it 4-0.
After being blanked through the first three innings by hard throwing Maikel Cleto, the Drillers began to chip away at the lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Gomez led off with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit by Scott Beerer.
Tulsa moved closer with two more runs in the fifth. With one out, Schaeffer singled and James Cesario drew a walk before Wheeler produced a run-scoring hit that pulled Tulsa to within two runs. A two-out single from Ben Paulsen cut the Redbirds lead to 4-3.
The Drillers missed a chance to even the score in the sixth inning as the first three batters reached base. Beerer was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single by Brian Rike. Field followed with another hit, but Beerer was thrown out trying to score on the play by Castellanos from centerfield. Cleto escaped the jam by retiring Schaeffer and Josh Sullivan.
The missed chance proved costly as the Cardinals struck again in the top of the seventh. Garcia bunted for a base hit and then scored on Curtis' second triple of the game to increase Tulsa's deficit to 5-3.
Paulsen again cut the lead to a single run in the bottom of the seventh with his fifth homer of the season, but Tulsa again missed a chance to pull even. Just prior to Paulsen's home run, Gomez was thrown out attempting to steal second base, and afterwards the Drillers loaded the bases with two outs, but reliever Jesse Simpson retired Field on a fly ball to keep the Cards lead intact.
Cook worked the first five innings for Tulsa, allowing seven hits and four runs. He did not issue a walk and struck out six.
Pitching in relief for the second straight game, Sullivan allowed one run in three innings and was in position to collect his second win of the year before the Cards ninth-inning rally.
Tulsa lost despite collecting 17 hits in the contest, including three each from Paulsen and Wheeler.
The first three batters in the Springfield lineup, Garcia, Curtis and Adams, all picked up three hits apiece.
The Drillers will take a day off before beginning a six-game road trip Wednesday night in Midland, Texas. The trip will open with three games against the RockHounds and three more against the Frisco RoughRiders.
Christian Friedrich (3-3, 4.95 ERA) will pitch Wednesday's opener for Tulsa against Polin Trinidad (0-1, 16.87 ERA) of Midland. First pitch at Citibank Ballpark is scheduled for 6:30PM.
Texas League Stories from May 23, 2011
- Cardinals to Donate $25,000 to Help Joplin Tornado Relief - Springfield Cardinals
- Blake Tekotte Gets Promoted To San Diego - San Antonio Missions
- Game Notes, May 23 - Midland at Corpus Christi - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Ninth Inning Home Run Stuns Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Cardinals Comeback to Beat Tulsa 8-7 - Springfield Cardinals
- Missions Late Rally Not Enough To Beat Frisco - San Antonio Missions
- Monday's Twinbill Washed Away - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Travs Doubleheader Cancelled at Nwa - Arkansas Travelers
- Roughriders Overcome Rally, Win in 10 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Naturals Open up Gates for Donations - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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