Drillers Pound Springfield, Outman One Strike Away From No-Hitte - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Josh Outman was a single strike away from pitching the first full game no-hitter in Tulsa Drillers history. Unfortunately, Texas League batting leader Oscar Taveras had other ideas.

Taveras' RBI single with two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the ninth was the only hit Outman gave up in eight and two-thirds innings of work, but the Drillers still routed the Cardinals, 9-1.

Outman threw 114 pitches, striking out nine and issuing five walks. Michael Mabry came in and got the final out for the Drillers.

The game's outcome had long been decided, so the drama coming down the stretch was whether or not Outman could keep the zero on the scoreboard for Springfield's hit total.

The Drillers got off to a hot start, putting up three runs in the first inning, and two more in the second to stake themselves to a 5-0 lead very early in the contest.

With Outman dominating Springfield batters, the Drillers simply continued to pad their lead, adding a run in the fifth on a Christ Pettit solo home run.

Tulsa scored two in the seventh on solo shots from Wednesday night hero Kiel Roling and Pettit, and capped the scoring with another run in the eighth.

The Drillers will be going for the four-game sweep when the two teams face off again Friday night at 7:08 p.m.