Drillers Come Up Short Against Arkansas

The Tulsa Drillers got off to a quick start on Thursday but couldn't find enough offense – or reliable enough pitching -- late to stave off a run by the Arkansas Travelers, falling 7-5.

The Drillers got on the board first off of a solo home run by Ben Paulsen in the first inning. Tulsa tacked on a second run in the opening inning when Casey Haerther singled to left field to score Jean Segura.

The Travelers scored one run in the bottom of the first and, after a scoreless second, Tulsa extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the third. First, Jimmy Cesario hit a ground-rule double to score Paulsen. Then Michael Mitchell singled on a ground ball to left field to drive in Cesario.

The Travelers answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs of its own to pull the Driller lead back to one.

Then Arkansas was the beneficiary of two unearned runs in the fifth that gave the Travelers their first lead in the contest. A pitching slump in the bottom of the inning resulted in both Tyson Auer and Jean Segura scoring on walks with the bases loaded to take a 5-4 lead.

The Arkansas Travelers used a two-run to eighth to take a sizeable 7-4 lead into the ninth. The Drillers were able to tack on a late run off of Paulsen's second solo homer of the night.

Tulsa's Josh Outman was given the loss after pitching four innings and giving up six hits and five runs with a 4.97 ERA. Arkansas' Buddy Boshers picked up the victory with two innings of relief work, allowing no runs on two hits.

The Drillers play at Arkansas again on Friday. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.