Tulsa Wins Nightcap, Splits Twin Bill
June 12, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Two nights after the Drillers swept a doubleheader in Springdale against the Naturals, the two clubs found themselves facing off in a twin bill affair yet again. After seeing Northwest Arkansas come from behind to win game one, the Drillers returned the favor, coming from behind in the second game to earn a split Friday night at ONEOK Field.
Tulsa began the scoring for the night in game one with a run in the second followed by another run in the fourth. The Drillers padded their lead in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Brandon Dixon and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Yadir Drake to build a 4-0 lead.
In the first game of the doubleheader, lefthander Rudy Owens began his tenure with the Drillers in dominant fashion as he retired each of the first 16 Naturals he faced. Owens was making his first start for the Drillers after being added to the roster earlier in the day.
The southpaw made his big league debut with the Houston Astros last year and continued the trend where the Dodgers send players to Tulsa with major league experience on their resumé.
The Naturals were unable to get anything going through the first five innings as Owens efficiently mowed them down. But with one out in the sixth, Zane Evans launched a solo shot to left to end Owens' great game and begin the Northwest Arkansas comeback. Two batters later, the Naturals had crept within a run as Lane Adams blasted a two-run bomb to bring a close to Owens' night.
Reliever Jorge De Leon came in and closed out the inning to maintain the slim Drillers advantage. De Leon came back out in the seventh looking to close out the game, but the Naturals had other plans. Following a double from Bubba Starling and a two-out, intentional walk to Mike Bianucci, the Texas League home run leader, Evans stepped back up to the plate. To the Drillers chagrin, Evans delivered for his club again as he cracked his second homer of the game to give the Naturals a 6-4 lead. The three-run home run was Evans' third homer of the season.
A one-out base knock from Adam Law in the bottom half of the inning went for naught as Northwest Arkansas held on to earn the game one victory.
The two teams wasted no time getting the scoring started in game two. The Naturals put three runs on the board with two singles and two doubles to take a quick 3-0 lead.
But Tulsa bounced right back in its half of the first with four hits to plate two runners and cut the deficit to 3-2. Jarek Cunningham delivered the key knock with a one-out double to drive in the first Drillers run.
The Drillers tied the game at three apiece in the bottom of the second. With Adam Law on third and Peter Lavin on first, manager Razor Shines called for a double steal. Naturals' catcher Parker Morin did not appear to see Law headed for home and fired to second. Morin bounced the throw however, allowing Law to complete the steal of home and Lavin to cruise safely into second.
After a leadoff triple in the third from Yadir Drake did not lead to a run, the Drillers broke through in the fourth. Tulsa loaded the bases on back-to-back-to-back singles before a sacrifice fly from Cunningham brought home Luis Mateo to give the Drillers a 4-3 lead. Although the Drillers were unable to add any more runs in the inning, they had the lead.
In addition to the two runs he batted in, Cunningham saved the Drillers several times throughout the night as he made multiple strong defensive plays to keep Northwest Arkansas at bay.
Fontanez, after giving up 3 runs in the top of the first, buckled down to keep the potent Naturals offense off the scoreboard for the next five innings. The right-hander saw his night end with two outs in the top of the sixth after giving up a base hit to Kenny Diekroeger. Jeremy Horst trotted in from the pen and promptly got Morin to ground out to second.
Horst was able to work around a two-out base hit in the seventh inning to nail down the win and prevent another Naturals comeback.
Fontanez picked up his first win with Tulsa for his efforts in game two while Horst earned his fourth save of the year. The Naturals' Jonathan Dziedzic earned the victory in game one as he tossed a 7-inning, complete game in his fourth start against the Drillers this season.
A combined crowd of 7,276 took in the doubleheader Friday night and were able to celebrate the Drillers game two victory with a fireworks show afterwards.
The Drillers will continue their extended homestand as the Springfield Cardinals come to town Saturday for a four-game series. Getting the start for Tulsa in the series opener will be Chris Anderson (5-4, 3.50 ERA.) He will be opposed by Kurt Heyer (1-0, 1.98 ERA) for Springfield. First pitch is set for 7:05PM.
Texas League Stories from June 12, 2015
- Hooks Win First Half - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Travs Avoid Sweep with Wild 15-12 Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Tulsa Wins Nightcap, Splits Twin Bill - Tulsa Drillers
- Riders Cruise in Front of "Full House" - Frisco RoughRiders
- Naturals Split Twin Bill in Tulsa - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Roughriders Set Another Attendance Record on "Full House Night" - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drake White & the Big Fire Headline BIG Country Bash Concert - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Travelers Series Highlights: June 13 - June 16 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Kemmer-Kemmer Land - Midland RockHounds
- Kemmer Drives Win No. 40 - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Ellis' Brilliant Debut Spoiled in 11th - Arkansas Travelers
- Cardinals Outlast Travs, 1-0, in 11 Innings for Sixth Straight Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals Top Drillers on National TV - Tulsa Drillers
- Riders Roll Behind Williams' Four-Hit Night - Frisco RoughRiders
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