Tulsa Noodlers Earn 3-1 Win in ONEOK Field Return
August 12, 2022 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Kenneth Betancourt of the Tulsa Noodlers in action
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Tim Campbell)
Tulsa, OK - The Tulsa Noodlers made their triumphant return to ONEOK Field Thursday night in the third game of a six-game series against the Midland RockHounds. Pitching continued to be the key storyline in the series as each team receiving solid performances on the mound.
Both sides used only two pitchers to complete the nine-inning contest. For Tulsa, Lael Lockhart and Kyle Hurt combined for 9 innings and 16 strikeouts, and the Noodlers broke a tie game with single runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to take a 3-1 win.
Kenneth Betancourt put Tulsa ahead with his go-ahead single in the seventh inning. (Tim Campbell)
Both teams took advantage of early errors to score unearned runs in the second inning. Midland put two runners on base with back-to-back walks before Chase Calabuig hit a fly ball toward the left field line that ricocheted off the glove of left fielder Justin Yurchak, allowing Michael Guldberg to score the game's first run.
In the bottom half of the second, with two runners on, Tulsa's Ty Kelly hit a ground ball that Midland first baseman Tyler Soderstrom could not field cleanly, allowing Brandon Lewis to score and tie the game at 1-1.
From there, Lockhart was dialed in for the next three innings. The lefty gave up only two hits over the next three innings and struck out four Midland hitters.
Kyle Hurt was the first pitcher out of the bullpen for the Noodlers and followed up on Lockhart's strong start with an impressive relief outing. The USC product kept the RockHounds off the board for the next three innings.
The Noodlers broke the 1-1 tie in the seventh inning, scoring a run on only one hit. Abiatal Avelino drew a walk and stole second to move into scoring position, and then advanced to third on a fly out to centerfield. With two outs, Kenneth Betancourt singled up the middle to score Avelino and give the Noodlers and Hurt a 2-1 lead.
Tulsa put an insurance run on the scoreboard in the eighth inning thanks to Justin Yurchak's sixth home run of the season, upping the lead to 3-1.
With the two-run cushion, Hurt returned to the mound to begin the ninth inning. He got two quick outs before a single and a walk put the tying runs on base. Hurt escaped the trouble by striking out Kyle McCann to end the game and pick up his first Double-A win.
Images from this story
 Kenneth Betancourt of the Tulsa Noodlers in action (Tim Campbell) |
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