After falling in the previous two games, the Tulsa Drillers topped the Springfield Cardinals, 9-4, before 3,948 fans at Hammons Field on Monday afternoon.
The win edges the Drillers back in front of the Cardinals by a half-game for 1st place in the North Division First Half Standings. Since Tulsa will only play 69 games in the half due to a rain out, winning percentage will determine the 1st Half Winner. The Cardinals are currently 35-28 with a .556 winning percentage, just behind the Drillers who are 35-27 with a .565 winning percentage.
For the third straight game, the Drillers cracked the scoreless tie with early offense. Facing RHP Trey Nielsen (L, 5-6) to lead off the game, CF Andrew Toles lined a single to center field to reach base. After Toles moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Nielsen induced a pop out from 2B Willie Calhoun for the second out. However, RF Alex Verdugo came through with a two-out RBI single, bringing in Toles for the 1-0 lead for Tulsa.
As they have done throughout the series, the Cardinals answered right away in the bottom of the first against RHP Trevor Oaks (W, 8-1). CF Harrison Bader led off with a single, reaching base to start the stanza. Bader then took off for second on a pitch to RF Jonathan Rodriguez, which Rodriguez grounded to third base. 3B Adam Law retired Rodriguez with a throw to first base, but Bader kept motoring around the bases and went from first to third on the groundout. Bader then tagged and darted home on an RBI sacrifice fly into foul ground in left field from 2B Bruce Caldwell, tying the game at 1-1.
The tie remained through a scoreless second from each hurler, but the Drillers moved right back in front in the top of the third. Oaks helped his own cause with a leadoff single to start the stanza, before advancing to third on a double from Toles. Both runners than came in on a two-run double inside the left field line from 3B Adam Law, opening a 3-1 lead for the Drillers.
Nielsen kept the Cardinals within two runs through his final two scoreless innings, but Tulsa struck against RHP Heath Wyatt in the top of the sixth. With one away, SS Jordan Tarsovich placed a double inside the left field line. Wyatt struck out Oaks, but Toles dealt an RBI triple to right-center field to bring in Tarsovich and stretch the Tulsa lead to 4-1.
The Drillers kept swinging away in the top of the seventh. With two on and two down, C Paul Hoenecke pulled a three-run home run to right field, increasing the advantage to 7-1.
After Oaks had kept the Cardinals at just the one run through his six innings, Springfield started chipping away against RHP Joe Broussard in the bottom of the seventh. 1B Michael Ohlman and SS Juan Herrera opened the inning with consecutive singles, before an eight-pitch walk worked by pinch-hitting INF Mason Katz to load the bases with no outs. CF Harrison Bader was then hit by a pitch from Broussard, forcing in Ohlman from third and keeping the bases full. Broussard, though, battled back with a strikeout against Rodriguez, before inducing two hard hit lineouts from Caldwell to right field and LF Luke Voit to left field, escaping the jam with the Drillers ahead, 7-2.
Tulsa plated an eighth run with an RBI sacrifice fly from Verdugo in the top of the eighth, but Springfield continued the comeback with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. 3B Paul DeJong opened the inning with a walk, followed by a double from C Carson Kelly. One out later, SS Juan Herrera brought in DeJong with an RBI groundout, moving Kelly to third with two away. CF Collin Radack then sliced a two-out RBI single to right field, bringing home Kelly to decrease the deficit to just four runs, 8-4.
However, the Drillers once again responded with offense of their own in the top of the ninth. With two down, SS Jordan Tarsovich yanked a solo shot to left field, stretching the lead back to five runs. RHP Caleb Dirks then took over for the bottom of the ninth and dealt a 1-2-3 final frame, closing the 9-4 win for the Drillers.
