Offense Powers Drillers to Extra-Innings Win
Published on April 10, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers celebrate at home plate
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Shanna Stafford)
Springfield, MO- The Tulsa Drillers proved just how powerful their offense is on Thursday night. The Drillers set new season highs in hits and runs scored and recovered from two separate three-run deficits by scoring six runs in the final two innings to defeat the Springfield Cardinals 12-9 in ten innings.
The win was the Drillers second straight at Hammons Field and their first come-from-behind victory of the season. The result improved their season record to 4-2 and moved them into a first-place tie with the Cards.
The two teams traded runs in the first inning as Kendall George led off the game with a double and scored on Josue De Paula's single to give Tulsa a 1-0 lead.
After Springfield tied the game in the bottom half of the first, Tulsa quickly responded as George drove in Joe Vetrano to put the Drillers back in front.
Drillers starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski's night was cut short in the second inning when the Redbirds tagged him for four runs. Jon Jon Gazdar produced three of those runs with his three-run homer, and Zach Levenson followed with an RBI double to put the Redbirds ahead 5-2.
Tulsa answered with two runs in each of the next two innings to retake the lead. Chris Newell narrowed the gap to one with a two-run opposite-field homer. In the fifth, RBI hits from De Paula and Zyhir Hope gave Tulsa a 6-5 lead.
Three walks, two hit batters and consecutive steals of home plate were responsible for the Cardinals scoring four runs in the fifth inning to take a three-run lead.
The Drillers again rallied, using three singles in the top of the ninth to score a run. Following a walk, Joe Vetrano delivered Tulsa's fourth and most important hit of the inning, driving in two more runs to tie the game.
Carson Hobbs kept the game tied with a scoreless bottom of the ninth.
A three-run tenth inning for the Drillers decided the game. Run-scoring hits from George, Kyle Nevin and Elijah Hainline in the inning put Tulsa ahead 12-9.
Cam Day kept the Drillers in front in the bottom half of the tenth, securing the victory and recording his first save of 2026.
GAME NOTES
*Hobbs was credited with the win after tossing two scoreless innings. It was his fifth win in 19 career games with Tulsa
*Newell's homer was his first of the season. The University of Virginia product swatted 20 home runs for the Drillers in 2025.
*George and De Paula both had multi-hit games for the second straight night. The duo earned three hits each in the win, with George plating what proved to be the winning run.
Kendall George produced his third straight multi-hit game and his fourth this season in Thursday's win at Springfield.Shanna Stafford *Hainline earned two more hits to increase his hitting streak to six straight games with nine hits total during that span.
*Evan Shaw and Lucas Wepf also had strong nights on the mound, combining for 3.1 scoreless innings. Neither has allowed a run this season.
*The top seven hitters in the Drillers lineup all drove in at least one run.
UP NEXT
The Drillers and Redbirds will play the fourth game of their six-game series in Springfield on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL - RHP Patrick Copen (1-0, 0.00 ERA) SPR - LHP Braden Davis (0-0, 6.23 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers celebrate at home plate (Shanna Stafford) |
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