TULSA, Ok – The largest crowd at ONEOK Field in over five years turned out Friday night, and the fans were treated to the first walk-off victory of the season for the Tulsa Drillers. With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Drillers loaded the bases with one out to set up a sacrifice fly from Diego Cartaya that scored Jonny DeLuca with the winning run in an exciting 6-5 win for the Drillers.
Tulsa twice had to overcome Wichita leads in the back-and-forth contest that featured a combined five home runs from the two teams. The victory extended the Drillers winning streak to three straight games, one short of matching the season high four-game streak.
For the second straight night, DeLuca opened the scoring for the Drillers with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning. He deposited a 2-0 pitch into the Budweiser Terrace for his third homer of the season and his second in as many games.
Wichita’s Armani Smith answered with his first homer of the season in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1. The run was the first scored against Drillers pitchers in 20 innings.
The home run theme continued into the third when Josh Stowers belted Tulsa’s second homer of the game. The solo blast, the first of the season for Stowers, gave the Drillers a 2-1 lead.
The Wind Surge took its first lead of the night in the fifth with three runs against reliever Alec Gamboa. Jake Rucker tied the score with a solo homer before Will Holland singled in a pair of runs to put Wichita in front 4-2.
Tulsa’s third homer of the night in the sixth inning tied the score once again. After Jose Ramos drew a one-out walk, Imanol Vargas lined a full-count pitch over the right field fence and just inside the foul pole for a two-run homer that evened the score at 4-4.
The Wind Surge quickly went back in front in the seventh when Anthony Prato was hit by a pitch from Cole Percival, stole second base and scored on a two-out single from Smith.
Trailing 5-4, the Drillers would score the final two runs of the game to claim the victory. In the eighth, Cartaya singled and Ramos and Vargas drew walks to load the bases. Brandon Lewis hit an infield chopper that left second baseman Prato with only a play at first base. His throw retired Lewis, but Cartaya raced home with the tying run that set up the walk-off win in the ninth.
With the score tied at 5-5, the winning rally began with one out when DeLuca beat out an infield hit. Jorbit Vivas followed with a lined double down the right field line that put the winning run just 90 feet from home. After Andy Pages was intentionally walked to load the bases, Cartaya delivered when he lofted a 2-2 pitch into centerfield. Will Holland made the catch in medium-depth center, but he had no chance to throw out the speedy DeLuca at the plate as the Drillers rushed onto the field to celebrate their first ninth-inning win of the year.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Paid attendance for the game totaled 8,379, making it the largest attendance for a Drillers home game since opening night of the 2018 season.
*Vivas extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games when he doubled on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the first inning. He finished 2-4 in the game and is now batting .377 for the season.
*DeLuca had his first three-hit game of the season, finishing 3-5.
*It was the third homer of the season for Vargas, who is now hitting .345.
*The Drillers won despite going 0-7 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
*Tulsa starting pitcher River Ryan labored through his shortest outing of the season, using 61 pitches to get through 2.1 innings, but he allowed just one run. Ryan walked three batters and gave up six hits while striking out a season high five batters.
*Pitcher Ryan Sublette, who was activated earlier in the day, worked a scoreless eighth inning in his Double-A debut.
*Jordan Leasure worked a scoreless top of the ninth to gain the victory and even his record at 1-1.
*The win gave the Drillers a 3-1 advantage in the 2023 Coors Light Propeller Series.
*The game took 2 hours and 48 minutes to play, making it the longest game at ONEOK Field this season by 26 minutes.
UP NEXT:
Tulsa and Wichita will play the fifth game of their six-game series on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are slated to be:
Wichita – RHP Chad Donato (0-1, 27.00 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Emmet Sheehan (1-1, 3.09 ERA)