TULSA, Okla. — The Wichita Wind Surge’s losing streak reached seven games Wednesday afternoon with a 5-4 loss to the Tulsa Drillers at ONEOK Field.
Wichita (26-33) received five strong innings from Chris Vallimont and collected 10 hits, but Tulsa (34-25) used a two-run homer in the eighth inning to take the lead and held off a ninth-inning rally.
Vallimont allowed two unearned runs on two hits while striking out six over five innings. The right-hander finished his outing by striking out four consecutive batters.
Wichita took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after a pair of doubles, an RBI groundout and an RBI single.
Tulsa answered in the third, capitalizing on two Wind Surge errors and a pair of bunt singles. The Drillers scored once on a Wichita miscue before tying the game on a sacrifice fly.
The Wind Surge regained the lead in the sixth. After a walk and a single put a runner in scoring position, Marek Houston lined a two-out RBI single up the middle for a 3-2 advantage.
Tulsa tied the game again in the seventh after three walks loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly brought home the tying run.
The Drillers took their first lead in the eighth on a two-run homer to left field, putting Wichita in a 5-3 hole.
The Wind Surge scored once in the ninth but could not complete the comeback.
Graham Brown recorded his third multi-hit game of the season and drove in a run, while Houston and Khadim Diaw also finished with two hits apiece. Houston collected his 17th multi-hit game of the season and Diaw recorded his 18th.
Jaime Ferrer extended his on-base streak to 11 games, while Andrew Cossetti pushed his streak to five. Caden Kendle added a double.
Brown has driven in 12 runs through his first 20 games with Wichita.
Spencer Bengard worked a scoreless inning in relief for his 14th scoreless appearance of the season. Luis Quiñones also made his first appearance since being activated from the 60-day injured list.
Wichita recorded double-digit hits for the 34th time this season but fell behind 2-0 in the six-game series.
The Wind Surge and Drillers continue the series Thursday at ONEOK Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.