Tulsa Finishes Home Stand with Win over Cardinals

Strong pitching was the story of the night for the Drillers as they topped Springfield.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:22 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa Finishes Home Stand with Win over Cardinals

Originally Published: Apr 23, 2011 11:33 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Drillers made it three consecutive wins Saturday as they capped off a four-game home stand with a 7-4 win over the Springfield Cardinals.

Juan Nicasio (3-1) struggled a bit early for Tulsa (9-7), but put the clamps on after giving up three runs in first four innings. He finished after seven innings of service, giving up just three earned runs on five hits and struck out 10 Springfield (6-10) batters.

Scott Schneider (1-2) received a loss for his outing, giving up four runs on six hits in his 6.2 innings of service for the Cardinals.

Springfield took its first lead of the game in the top of the seventh on a Jermaine Curtis line drive single to left to bring Alex Castellanos and Eric Duncan home to take a 2-0 advantage. After Tulsa drew within one run in the bottom of the third, Duncan reached on a fielding error to bring Castellanos home and take a 3-1 lead in the next half inning.

But Tulsa wouldn’t stay quiet for the whole contest.

In the top of the seventh with runners on second and third, Schneider tossed a wild pitch and allowed Wilin Rosario to score from third. Bronson Sardinha singled to short stop in the next at-bat to bring Scott Beerer home and tie the game 3-3.

Two at-bats later, Hector Gomez singled to left field to bring Sardinha across the plate and allow Tulsa to take its first lead of the contest. Replacement pitcher Jesse Simpson threw a wild pitch, allowing Tim Wheeler to score from third and take a 5-3 advantage.

Back-to-back home runs to start the eighth inning extended the Drillers’ advantage to four runs.

Tulsa will take a day off before traveling to Arkansas for a four –game series against the Travelers, starting at 7:05 p.m. Monday.