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TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Three-run ninth beats Tulsa

May 10, 2006 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


A tough road trip came to a disappointing end for the Tulsa Drillers Wednesday afternoon as the Midland RockHounds scored three times in the ninth inning on only one hit to rally for a 6-5 win. The loss left the Drillers with a 2-6 record on the trip and a 17-16 season record.

The Drillers carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth in Wednesday's finale, but the inning began poorly when Manuel Corpas walked leadoff hitter Danny Putnam. It was the first unintentional walk issued by Corpas this season.

Jason Perry followed the walk with a soft grounder that scooted under first baseman Joe Koshansky's glove for an error, putting runners at first and second. Corpas got two quick strikes on the next hitter, Vasili Spanos, before hitting him with an 0-2 pitch. It was the third time in the game that Spanos had reached on a hit by pitch.

Corpas recovered and retired Brant Colamarino on strikes, but the third strike got past catcher Alvin Colina for a passed ball that allowed Putnam to score and the tying and winning runs to move into scoring position.

With a base open, the Drillers elected to pitch to Kevin Melillo. The strategy paid off when Corpas struck out the Midland second baseman for the second out of the inning.

But, Brian Snyder ended Tulsa's hopes of a victory when he lined a Corpas pitch into right field that scored both Perry and Spanos to give the RockHounds the win.

The late rally produced the only lead that Midland held in the game. For the second game in a row, the Drillers scored three first inning runs as Koshansky belted his sixth home run of the season, a 3-run shot to right field that gave Tulsa a quick 3-0 lead.

Juan Morillo ran into immediate trouble in the bottom of the first as he struggled with his control. A single, two walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch produced Midland's first two runs. Another walk with two outs ended Morillo's day after only 2/3 of an inning. Matt Daley prevented further damage when he retired Lloyd Turner on a fly ball out with the Drillers still holding a 3-2 lead.

That lead disappeared in the bottom of the second when Jed Morris singled and scored on Jason Perry's sacrifice fly.

The game remained tied at 3-3 until the top of the sixth. With two outs, Matt Macri walked and then scored on Alvin Colina's double to put the Drillers back in front.

A run-scoring single by Colina in the eighth inning increased the margin to 5-3.

Tulsa's middle relievers turned in one of their best performances of the year in the loss. Daley allowed only one run in 3 1/3 innings, while Alberto Arias worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Josh Newman completed the strong showing with 1 1/3 shutout innings.

The Drillers will have to live with the tough loss for a couple of days, as they will have both Thursday and Friday off. Tulsa will begin a 5-game homestand Saturday night with a doubleheader against the Arkansas Travelers. Marc Kaiser (1-3, 5.86 ERA) is scheduled to pitch the first game, while Arias (3-1, 2.48 ERA) is slated to work the second game. Starting time for game one on Saturday is scheduled for 6:05PM.

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