Springfield Offense Too Much For Drillers in Series Opener

NewsOn6.com

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri -- The Springfield Cardinals' bats were hot Friday, dropping Tulsa 10-5 in the first game of the Drillers' four-game road trip.

Springfield (33-40) started it's scoring in the bottom of the first, thanks to a ground-rule double from Matt Adams to bring Nick Punto home and take a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Zack Cox singled to left field to score Adams and make it a two-run advantage.

The Cardinals' lead doubled in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-run homer by Eric Duncan over the center field wall.

However, Springfield's biggest inning was the bottom of the seventh. With two on base and one out on the board, Ryan Jackson doubled to left field to bring both Chris Swauger and Nick Punto home to make it a 6-0 lead for the Cardinals. Matt Adams followed with a home run to right field to score two and make it an eight-run advantage for Springfield.

Tulsa (34-39) tacked on runs in the fifth and sixth to cut the lead to five runs, but a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh pushed the lead to 10-3 in favor of Springfield.

Michael Blazek (8-3) received a win for the outing, giving up just one earned run on five hits, while striking out seven in his six innings of service. Josh Sullivan (2-6) was credited with a loss, allowing eight runs on 10 hits in just four innings.

The Drillers will try to get back to winning in the second game of the four-game series, starting at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.