Drillers Fall To Cardinals

Springfield struck first with a run in the top of the first inning and mostly kept the Tulsa Drillers at arm's length for the remainder of the game as the Cardinals beat the Drillers 4-3 on Monday.

After Springfield scored in the opening inning, it wasn't until the fifth inning before another runner crossed the plate. Tulsa tied up the contest on a ground ball single to third by Parker Frazier to score Jose Gonzalez.

Springfield then reclaimed the lead almost instantly, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth.

Tulsa struck back in the seventh when Warren Schaeffer ground out to the shortstop, allowing Corey Dickerson to scamper home to cut the lead back to one.

The Cardinals put a little more distance between themselves and Tulsa when Adam Melker drove a sol-shot home run over the right field wall for a 4-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The Drillers managed to tack on a late run when Kent Matthes connected on an RBI single to right field, scoring Tim Torres, but they failed to string enough offense together to overcome the late two-run deficit.

Tulsa starter Parker Frazier fell to 4-10 on the season after giving up nine hits and three runs in 6.1 innings. Springfield's Scott McGregor improved to 2-1 after giving up just six hits and two runs against five strikeouts in seven innings on the mound.

The two teams meet again in Tulsa on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.