Van Kooten Leads Tulsa To Saturday Win
Published on July 18, 2010 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
Tulsa, Okla - Jason Van Kooten continued his onslaught against the Arkansas Travelers on Saturday leading the Tulsa Drillers to a 7-4 victory with three base hits including a home run (10) and three runs batted in. Van Kooten upped his season totals in 13 games against the Travs to five home runs and 15 runs batted in helping the Drillers to their 13th win in 16 games. Trevor Reckling (1-1) was victimized by poor defense including an error of his own in suffering the loss. Charged with seven runs (four earned) on seven base hits, Reckling issued three walks and two wild pitches while striking out two. Tulsa's Brandon Durden (4-6) earned his first victory in six starts completing six innings while allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
With losses in two of three at Tulsa, the Travs fall to 8-13 in the second half (34-57 overall) while the Drillers improve to 15-5 in the second half (44-45 overall).
Tulsa played with the lead from the first inning and jumped on top of Reckling for two quick runs. Playing his last game during a rehab assignment, Eric Young led off the first inning with a single. Anthony Jackson followed with a push bunt up the first base line that brought Reckling and first baseman Roberto Lopez close together. Confusion causes Reckling to field the ball and flip it towards an unoccupied first base. As the ball rolled into foul territory, Young scored and Jackson advanced to second base. A groundout by Wilin Rosario moved Jackson to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly from Kiel Roling for a 2-0 Drillers lead.
Durden kept the Travs off the scoreboard until the fourth inning. Jeremy Moore worked a one-out walk and beat a throw to second base when Julio Perez grounded into a fielder's choice. Moore was forced at thid base on a fielder's choice hit by Lopez, but Perez advanced to second base and attempted to score when Anel De Los Santos singled to left field. Scott Beerer's throw arrived home before Perez, but he knocked the ball out of Rosario's glove and scored. Rosario though, saw Lopez trying for third base and recovered the ball in time to throw him out to end the inning with Tulsa on top 2-1.
More poor fielding did in the Travs in the fourth leading to two more runs. Roling hit a one-out single off the top of the right-field wall. Then Carlos Colmenares made a diving stop of a smash from Beerer. Attempting to start a double play, Colmenares threw wildly past second base. Charlton Jimerson fielded the ball in right field and tried to nail Roling at third but the ball sailed into the third base seats allowing Roling to score. Beerer advanced to third base on the double error and scored for a 4-1 Drillers lead on Van Kooten's one-out single.
Tulsa took its largest lead of the night in the fifth inning when Matt Repec hit a leadoff single and advanced to third base on two wild pitches. A sacrifice fly from Jackson increased Tulsa's lead to 5-1.
The Travs drew within three runs when Lopez (6) hit his fourth home run of July scoring Jimerson in front of him for a 5-3 Tulsa lead.
Van Kooten brought out the big stick again in the sixth inning cracking a solo home run to left field with two outs for a 6-3 Drillers advantage.
The Travs last offensive gasp came from centerfielder Tyson Auer, who launched a solo home run off Matt Daley in the seventh inning. The last eight Travs batters were retired by the combination of Daley, Ching-Lung Lo (8th inning) and Stu Pomeranz (9th inning, 10th save).
Time of game was 2:26 and the paid attendance was 6,134.
Texas League Stories from July 18, 2010
- Hooks Sack Second Straight Series - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Travelers Strike Early to Drop Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Springfield Edged by Naturals 4-3 - Springfield Cardinals
- Hosmer Propels Naturals in Comeback - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- 'Riders Drop Series Finale - Frisco RoughRiders
- Quick Four Game Set with Naturals - Arkansas Travelers
- Drillers Extend Partnership with Colorado Rockies - Tulsa Drillers
- Son Of A Beach! - Midland RockHounds
- Naturals and Cards split twinbill - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- 'Riders can't hold on against the Hooks - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Drop Travelers 7-4 - Tulsa Drillers
- Cardinals Split Doubleheader with Naturals - Springfield Cardinals
- Van Kooten Leads Tulsa To Saturday Win - Arkansas Travelers
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