Drillers' Pitchers Struggle in Series Finale

Tulsa gave up a total of 11 runs on 19 hits and lost by six.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:54 am

By: News On 6

Drillers' Pitchers Struggle in Series Finale

Originally Published: Aug 13, 2010 10:22 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer
MIDLAND, Texas – The Tulsa Drillers’ pitchers had a rough night from start to finish Friday in an 11-5 loss to the Midland RockHounds.

The RockHounds (60-57) scattered their scoring, recording runs in all but one inning. They got on the board in the first with an RBI triple by Shane Peterson, and then continued to pile on in the following frames.

Midland added one run in the second inning, then two more runs in both the third and fourth to take a quick 6-0 lead. The Drillers (54-62) finally drove home their first run in the top of the fifth with an RBI double by Lars Davis and RBI single by Michael Mitchell to cut the lead to four, but the RockHounds canceled out those runs with two of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Tulsa added a third run in the sixth on a solo home run by Kiel Roling, but Midland again responded with a run of its own in the next half inning to take a 9-3 lead. The Drillers finally kept the RockHounds from scoring in the seventh, but could not take advantage.

After Hector Gomez connected on an RBI double in the top of the eighth, Midland once again answered with two more scores in the bottom half. Anthony Jackson added one more run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth to finish the scoring and seal Tulsa’s second straight loss.

The Midland lineup from top to bottom was on fire at the plate, with only one batter – Matthew Sulentic – failing to record a hit. Six different RockHounds drove in a run, with four of them contributing more than one.

Brandon Durden (4-10) gave up the bulk of the damage and was credited with the loss for Tulsa, surrendering six runs – four of them earned – on nine hits in four innings. Ryan Edell finished with the win after holding the Drillers to three runs on six hits in seven innings.

Friday’s contest ended a three-game stint between the two teams, and the Drillers will continue their Texas road trip by facing the Frisco RoughRiders at 7 p.m. Saturday.