Hooks Top Drillers 6-1
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers were unable to carry the momentum from a walk-off win on Tuesday night into Wednesday’s meeting with Corpus Christi. The Drillers fell behind early and were limited to just one run in a 6-1 loss to the Hooks at ONEOK Field. With the defeat,
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers were unable to carry the momentum from a walk-off win on Tuesday night into Wednesday’s meeting with Corpus Christi. The Drillers fell behind early and were limited to just one run in a 6-1 loss to the Hooks at ONEOK Field.
With the defeat, the Drillers fell two games behind first-place Springfield in the Texas League’s North Division second-half standings. More importantly, their lead on second place, which likely comes with a playoff berth, was trimmed to two games.
After winning Tuesday’s series opener against the Hooks thanks to a two-run homer in the tenth inning from Griffin Lockwood-Powell, Wednesday’s game began positively with starting pitcher Patrick Copen retiring the first five Corpus Christi batters in order.
But, the third and final out in the top of the second would not come easily as a pair of two-out singles put runners at the corners. From there, the Hooks executed a double steal with Luis Baez jogging home for the game’s first run.
Copen ran into more trouble in the top of the fourth. With runners again at first and third, Jeron Williams stole second base, and when catcher Yeiner Fernandez’s throw was wild, Trevor Austin came home from third to make it 2-0.
Two more singles and two more stolen bases in the fourth upped the lead to three runs before Copen’s fourth walk ended his stint. Jorge Benitez was brought on from the bullpen, and he got a pop out before a run-scoring single from Lucas Spence capped the three-run inning and increased the lead for the Hooks to 4-0.
They added two more runs in the eighth inning.
The Drillers lone run came in the bottom of the ninth inning when John Rhodes singled home Fernandez, who had also singled.
Corpus Christi stole nine bases in the game, tying the ONEOK Field record for most steals in a game for a Tulsa opponent. It is the third time this season that a team has matched the record nine stolen bases against the Drillers.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Griffin Lockwood-Powell singled in the fourth inning for the Drillers to extend his hitting streak to seven consecutive games.
*Copen was charged with four runs in three-plus innings. He allowed five hits while striking out four but was hampered by four walks. The defeat dropped Copen’s Double-A record to 1-4.
*It was a tough night for Tulsa pitchers. The five hurlers in the game combined for nine walks, three wild pitches, two balks and one hit batter.
*Drillers leadoff batter Zach Ehrhard finished 2-4, recording his eighth multi-hit game in just 20 games with the Drillers. He has hit safely in 14 of those 20 games.
*Prior to the start of Wednesday’s game, the Drillers announced that outfielder Damon Keith had been placed on the Injured List, retroactive to August 26. Keith has not played since August 15.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will continue their series with the Hooks on Thursday night. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. at ONEOK Field, and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
Corpus Christi – RHP James Hicks (0-3, 5.79 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Roque Gutierrez (2-1, 6.18 ERA)