TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Walk-Off in Extras Gives Tulsa 5th Straight Win

Published on August 9, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Shortstop Ronald Torreyes was one of three Driller batters with a multi-hit performance Saturday night as he finished 2-6 with a run scored. (Photo by Rich Crimi)

When Adam Law hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday to give the Drillers a 2-1 lead, it looked as if he would be the hero in regulation. But Northwest Arkansas tied things up in the ninth, forcing Law to come through once more in the bottom of the twelfth inning with the bases loaded yet again to give Tulsa a 3-2 walk-off victory at ONEOK Field.

Peter Lavin and Lars Anderson began the comeback in the twelfth with one-out, back-to-back base hits before Kyle Farmer earned a walk to load the bases for Law. The Driller leftfielder delivered with a sac fly to deep right to score Lavin from third and send Tulsa home happy.

Law seemed to be in the middle of the action all night long whether he was making a defensive play in left, getting on base or driving in runs. He finished the night 2-5 while driving in all three Tulsa runs.

After winning their fifth straight game, coupled with the Arkansas Travelers losing their fourth straight in Springfield, the Drillers now find themselves just 2 games out of first place in the Texas League North Division. It's been quite the turnaround for the Tulsa club that was 6 games out just four days ago.

Tulsa starter Ross Stripling turned in easily his best start as a Driller. The right-hander threw a season-high seven innings while limiting the Naturals to just a single run. But when Stripling exited the game after the seventh, his team trailed 1-0.

Despite Stripling's excellent outing, Naturals starter Jonathan Dziedzic actually outpitched his counterpart. The southpaw for Northwest Arkansas also tossed seven innings, but he did not allow a single run during his time on the mound.

The first five innings passed very quickly before the Naturals took the early lead in the sixth.

With no outs, Hunter Dozier grounded a ball that just stayed fair down the third base line to score Ramon Torres from third with the first run of the ballgame. But Law gunned Dozier out at second base for the second out of the inning to limit the Tulsa deficit to 1-0.

There was some excitement in the seventh when Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson was ejected by home plate umpire Derek Eaton during the inning break between the top and bottom half of the inning.

During the top of the seventh, Naturals' centerfielder Lane Adams was assessed an automatic strike for a pitch clock violation after not being alert to the pitcher at the proper time according to the new pitch clock rules. Wilson began arguing when the call was made, but was not ejected until he continued to voice his displeasure after the inning had ended.

The eighth inning proved to be eventful as well when the Naturals elected to intentionally walk Farmer to face Law with two Drillers on base and two outs in the home half of the eighth. That decision did not pay off for the visitors as Law came through with the clutch hit to put Tulsa up 2-1 heading to the ninth.

Juan Jaime came on for the Drillers in the ninth but was unable to hold the lead. After surrendering a leadoff hit and stolen base to Raul Mondesi Jr., Jaime got to within an out of earning his first save of the year. But Jorge Bonifacio clubbed a two-out base hit to right to score Mondesi Jr., sending the game to extra innings.

Tulsa had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eleventh inning when Law reached second with one out. But the Naturals managed to escape the inning while keeping the game tied up at 2-2 before Law's heroics ended things in the twelfth.

Reliever Ralston Cash, who began his day by visiting the Saint Francis Children's Hospital with Hornsby and friends, ended his day with his first Double-A win after throwing a scoreless top of the twelfth inning.

Farmer also extended his 2015 Drillers-high hitting streak to 13 games as he went 2-3 with 3 walks in the win.

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics



Texas League Stories from August 9, 2015


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