The 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals put up nine runs on 11 hits en route to the 9-4 win against the Tulsa Drillers before 3,930 fans at ONEOK Field on Monday night. CF Nick Martini and 1B Luke Voit both went yard, as RHP Trey Nielsen tossed 8.0 innings to help lead Springfield.
The Drillers (16-15, 53-47) struck for two runs in the bottom of the first against Nielsen (W, 7-7). SS Tim Locastro and 2B Willie Calhoun started the inning with consecutive singles, before Nielsen battled back with a strikeout against RF Kyle Garlick. CF Alex Verdugo, though, sliced an RBI single to left field, bringing in Locastro and moving Calhoun to third. LF Jacob Scavuzzo brought in Calhoun with an RBI sacrifice fly, though it did lead to Verdugo being retired trying to tag and take second, which ended the frame with the Drillers only ahead, 2-0.
The Cardinals (12-19, 53-48) raced in front right away, striking for four runs in the top of the second against RHP Tim Shibuya (L, 1-6). With C Luis Cruz on and two away, SS Juan Herrera drilled a double to left-center field to put runners at second and third. Nielsen then tied the game with a two-out, two-run double inside the right field line, his first-career double and first-career RBIs. With Nielsen at second, CF Nick Martini propelled Springfield in front with a two-run blast to right field, providing a 4-2 lead for the Cardinals.
Springfield struck for more in the top of the third. With one down, 1B Luke Voit reached safely on a fielding error on 2B Willie Calhoun. LF Mason Katz then chopped into a fielder's choice that did not retire an out, with Voit beating the throw to second base. One out later, RF Jonathan Rodriguez belted an RBI ground-rule double to center field, plating Voit for the 5-2 Cardinals lead.
Nielsen kept the four-run lead intact with scoreless work through the fifth, including a stretch during which he retired 13 of 15 batters. However, the Drillers got the bats going again in the bottom of the sixth, plating a pair of runs against the right-hander. Calhoun led off with a double, before moving to third on a base hit by Verdugo one out later. With runners at the corners, Scavuzzo brought in Calhoun with another RBI sacrifice fly. Verdugo then went to third on a single from 1B Cody Bellinger, before coming home on an RBI base hit by C Vinny DiFazio to bring the Drillers within one run, 5-4.
Nielsen bounced back with a scoreless seventh, before the Cardinals stretched the lead back out with four runs against RHP Scott Griggs in the eighth. 1B Luke Voit led off the frame with a towering solo shot to right field, his 15th homer and 50th RBI of the season, making it a two-run lead once again. Katz then followed with his second single of the night to reach base with no outs. After Katz was replaced by pinch-runner RF Blake Drake, Cruz bounced a ball to third that led to a three-base throwing error on 3B Jordan Tarsovich, enabling Drake to score all the way from first base and Cruz to get to third on the play. With the infield in, Rodriguez pulled an RBI single through the left side, scoring Cruz for the third run in the frame, still with no outs. A groundout moved Rodriguez to second base, before he took third on a wild pitch with Nielsen at-bat. Nielsen wound up working a walk to put runners at the corners for Martini, who picked up his third RBI of the night with a single that scored Rodriguez, opening the lead to 9-4.
Nielsen then capped his night with a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth inning that featured a highlight-reel diving catch in right-center field from Drake.
LHP Chandler Hawkins relieved Nielsen for the ninth and slammed the door, working around a single and a walk to close the 9-4 win for Springfield.
