Drillers Drop Afternoon Matchup To Springfield

The Tulsa Drillers lost its third-straight contest Monday after a big first inning by Springfield that propelled the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory.

Tulsa native Parker Frazier got the start on the bump for the Drillers and the afternoon matchup heated up from the start as Springfield used two doubles, a single and a home run to tally a four-run first inning.

Kolten Wong and Jermaine Curtis' singles put two on for Springfield only two batters into the game. Chris Swauger followed with a double that scored Wong from second and advanced Curtis to third. One batter later, Jamie Romak smashed his first home run of the season to left adding three runs to give Springfield an early 4-0 advantage.

Even after the four-run first frame, Frazier got back into the groove and held Springfield scoreless for the next four innings.

The Drillers got on the board in the fifth as Jose Gonzales scored off Angelys Nina's line drive single to left cutting the score to 4-1.

Joey Williamson entered the game to relieve Frazier in the sixth pitching a strong inning, but the seventh was more of a struggle.

Williamson walked Wong, then struck Curtis with a pitch to start the inning. With one out and one on, Swauger singles moving Curtis to second. Williamson then caught Romak swinging for the second out, but walked two straight batters which allowed Curtis to score. That made it 5-1 and forced Tulsa to bring in Zach Simons to close out the inning.

Nina's one hit and one RBI paced the Drillers while Romak went 2-for-5 at the plate for Springfield with three RBI.

Tulsa will now host the 2012 Texas League All-Star Game over the weekend. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the Home Run Derby will start at 5:50 followed by the game at 7:05.