Strong Start Leads to Another Win for the Drillers
Published on August 30, 2025 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa, OK - Luke Fox turned in the second straight strong outing from a Tulsa starting pitcher on Saturday night, leading the Drillers to their third straight win. Fox held Corpus Christi without a hit for five innings while the Drillers took advantage of ten walks from Hooks pitchers to post a 4-2 victory at ONEOK Field.
The result allowed the Drillers to maintain their two-games lead on second place in the second-half standings of the Texas League's North Division. Tulsa leads Wichita in the race for the second playoff spot that will come from the North Division. The red-hot Wind Surge won its fifth straight game on Saturday night to keep the playoff race tight.
Fox was staked to an early lead as the Drillers took advantage of control issues from Corpus Christi starting pitcher Alonzo Tredwell to take the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Three walks from Tredwell loaded the bases and set up a two-run single from catcher Nelson Quiroz.
A similar setup allowed the Drillers to double their lead in the fourth. James Tibbs III led off with a double against Hooks reliever Patrick Halligan to start the inning before a pair of walks loaded the bases. A two-out single to right by Kole Myers plated a two runners to up the margin to 4-0.
The no-hit bid from ended when Luke Spence opened the top of the sixth with a leadoff single, and it led to the only run for the Hooks. After a strikeout, Fox issued his fifth and sixth walks of the game to load the bases. The lefthander then gladly traded a run for a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Luis Baez. With the score at 4-1, Fox escaped further damage when Trevor Austin flied out to deep centerfield to end the inning.
The bullpen took it from there. Kelvin Ramirez worked a scoreless seventh inning, and Kelvin Bautista had a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts.
Carson Hobbs came on for the ninth and walked the leadoff batter. He got a strikeout and a pop up before John Garcia doubled into the left field corner to pull the Hooks to within 4-2.
Representing the tying run, Tommy Sacco Jr. made a bid to make things even more uncomfortable for the Drillers when he hit a drive to deep centerfield, but Drillers centerfielder Zach Ehrhard made a running catch just in front of the wall to end the game.
The victory for the Drillers was their fourth in the first five games of the six-game series with the Hooks, clinching their fifth series win in their last six.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Fox allowed just one hit and one run in six complete innings. He had six strikeouts with the only mark on his pitching line coming with the career high six walks. The win evened his season record at 4-4 and his Double-A record at 1-1.
*The Drillers beat the Hooks 4-1 on Friday night as starting pitcher Jackson Ferris allowed just two hits and one run in 6.2 innings.
*The save for Hobbs was his third since joining the Drillers.
The game featured a total of just eight hits with Tulsa accounting for five of them. The two pitching staffs combined to issue 17 walks with ten coming from Hooks pitchers and seven from the Drillers.
*Myers was 2-4 in the game with 2 RBI and is now 7-11 over the last three games.
*Tulsa hitting coach Blake Gaillen was ejected in the sixth inning by home plate umpire Warren Eubanks for contesting ball and strike calls.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will close out their series with the Hooks, and their home stand, on Sunday night at ONEOK Field. The finale will have a special starting time of 6:00 p.m. with a Labor Day Weekend Fireworks Show taking place after the game. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
Corpus Christi - RHP Jackson Nezuh (2-9, 5.07 ERA)
Tulsa - LHP Wyatt Crowell (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
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