TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Tulsa Pen Delivers in 4-3 Victory

Published on April 26, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


After winning their road trip finale in Springdale, Arkansas on Sunday in come-from-behind fashion, the Drillers picked up where they left off Monday. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Drillers tied things up without a hit before pulling ahead on a big three-run homer by Willie Calhoun. A trio of Tulsa relievers made sure that lead stood from there as the Drillers held on for a 4-3 victory in their homestand opener.

Wearing throwback hats for the game in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Drillers baseball in Tulsa, the Drillers created some new memories with their play Monday night.

The Travs got on the board first though with a run in the top of the second. A single, a walk, a flyout that advanced Eric Aguilera to third and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Stephen McGee did the job, putting Arkansas in front 1-0.

Following a scoreless third inning, things got exciting in the fourth.

In the top half of the frame, Arkansas loaded the bases with one out thanks to three walks from Tulsa starter Chris Anderson. Pitching coach Bill Simas took a quick trip to the mound to help settle down his starter, and the decision seemed to be the right one as Anderson escaped the inning by inducing a ground ball double play to end the frame.

The Drillers reversed roles with the Travs in the home half of the inning as Brandon Trinkwon and Alex Verdugo each worked a walk out of Arkansas starter Victor Alcantara to put men on first and second with none out. Alcantara added fuel to the fire as he uncorked a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position. That would instantly come back to bite him as a fielding error at third scored Trinkwon and kept the inning moving.

Alcantara, who is rated as the Los Angeles Angels #4 overall prospect, looked as if he might escape the jam as he struck out Lars Anderson and Jacob Scavuzzo swinging to get within one out of ending the inning. But Willie Calhoun stepped up to the plate and cracked a three-run blast over the right field fence to put the Drillers up 4-1.

The homer by Calhoun was actually the first hit allowed by Alcantara as the Drillers took advantage of every chance they got in the eventful fourth.

Calhoun's bomb also marked the 15th home run hit by the Drillers this season, good for third-best in the Texas League behind only the Corpus Christi Hooks and the NW Arkansas Naturals.

Arkansas came right back in the top of the fifth, scoring twice thanks to two walks and a pair of base hits to cut the Tulsa lead to just a single run at 4-3. The Travs looked as if they might pull even when Aguilera drove a fly ball into center with one out and a man on third. But Drillers centerfielder Verdugo corralled the fly ball for the second out and then fired home to cut down Bo Way trying to score for another inning-ending double play.

It was a battle of the bullpens from there, and the Tulsa relief corps was up to the task.

Rob Rogers came on for Anderson in the sixth and fired two innings of shutout ball. He was followed by southpaw Jordan Schafer who struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced to keep the Drillers lead intact.

The solid relief work was capped off by Caleb Dirks who came on and sealed the deal for Tulsa in the ninth. The California Baptist product matched his teammate Schafer by striking out 2 of the 3 Arkansas batters he faced to close out the game and secure the Tulsa victory.

Anderson earned his second victory of the season for Tulsa while Alcantara suffered the loss for Arkansas. Dirks was credited with his first save of the year for his scoreless inning of work.

The Drillers and Travs will continue their four-game series Tuesday night. Tulsa will send RHP Felipe Gonzalez (0-3, 11.12 ERA) to the mound as he looks to turn his season around. Arkansas will counter with RHP Jordan Kipper (1-0, 2.50 ERA.) First pitch at ONEOK Field is scheduled for 7:05PM.

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics

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Texas League Stories from April 26, 2016


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