SPRINGDALE — Tulsa polished off a strong first half to the Texas League season, rallying for the second consecutive day for a win over Northwest Arkansas.
The Drillers, who claimed the Texas League North Division first-half title, scored three runs in the top of the ninth, then turned an unorthodox, game-ending double play to claim the 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark.
Tulsa (46-23) received back-to-back two-out hits from Josue De Paula and Elijah Hainline to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead in the ninth.
The Naturals (29-38) tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, starting with back-to-back singles by Jack Pineda and Spencer Nivens. Daniel Vazquez then popped up a bunt to the first baseman and Alberto Rodriguez grounded into the game-ending double play.
With runners at first and second, Rodriguez hit a ground ball to third. Jake Gelof threw to second to get Nivens, but the throw to first was late. However, Drillers first baseman Joe Vetrano caught Pineda between second and third and ended up throwing him out at third to end the game.
Naturals Manager Brooks Conrad said he should have kept his eyes on Pineda rather than looking to first himself on the play.
“As a third-base coach, maybe I should have been helping him out more there,” Conrad said. “But my eyes were going to first, making sure that guy was safe. By the time I got my eyes back, he was in a rundown. Just got caught up there and didn’t keep coming to third on the throw to second.”
Pineda enjoyed a strong first half despite the miscue, hitting .367 with 3 home runs, 18 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 22 runs scored in 41 games with the Naturals.
Tulsa, which won its third in a row, scored four runs in the top of the ninth to force extras and won 7-5 in 11 innings Saturday.
“Frustrating, definitely not from lack of effort from our guys,” Conrad said. “We’ve been going through a tough stretch to start the year, this whole first half. Opportunities are still here. That’s going to be the message going into the second half.
“We’re going to have to be relentless. You can kind of dwell on the past, or you can figure out a way to move forward. That’s what this game’s about. That’s what life’s about.”
Naturals starting pitcher Hunter Patteson allowed just 2 runs on 2 hits over 6 innings. He pitched seven innings against the Drillers on Tuesday, another no-decision as the Naturals lost 6-5.
Northwest Arkansas set a single-game team record with 10 stolen bases without being caught on Sunday. The previous record was nine; Justin Johnson, who drew a walk in the eighth, stole second to set the record.
Pineda went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and 3 stolen bases for the Naturals. He gave the Naturals a 3-2 lead with a two-out, two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth. Nivens added an RBI single in the seventh to push the lead to 4-2.
Augusto Medieta (2-3) took the loss for Northwest Arkansas, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits in just 1 inning. Cam Day (2-1) picked up the win for the Drillers, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 2 innings of work. Nick Robertson pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.
Center fielder Chris Newell went 3 for 3 to lead the Drillers with 2 home runs, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Newell now has 13 home runs after hitting long balls in four consecutive plate appearances going back to Saturday evening.
Northwest Arkansas travels to face the Springfield Cardinals for six games next week to begin the second half on Tuesday. The Naturals return home for a series against Corpus Christi beginning on June 30.
ROUGHRIDERS 3, TRAVELERS 1
The Arkansas Travelers rounded out the first half of the Texas League season with a two-run loss to Frisco on Sunday evening at Riders Field in Frisco, Texas.
Arkansas dropped five of seven games in the series against Frisco, which included the makeup of a contest that was rained out on May 28 in North Little Rock.
The Travelers ended the first half of the season in second place in the North Division standings, finishing five games behind first-place Tulsa. Frisco clinched a playoff berth by topping the standings in the South Division.
In Sunday’s matchup, Frisco scored the final two runs of the game to take the win. The RoughRiders collected seven hits, with Frainyer Chavez and Max Wagner finishing with two apiece.
Wagner opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the third inning. He added an RBI single in the fifth that scored Keith Jones II and gave the RoughRiders a 2-1 advantage. An RBI single by Orlando Martinez in the eighth scored Chavez and set the final score.
A solo home run from Hunter Fitz-Gerald in the fourth represented the only run of the game for Arkansas. The visitors tallied six hits in the loss; Fitz-Gerald led the way with two.
Dylan MacLean (5-0) allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits in 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win, while Joey Danielson struck out 2 in the ninth to secure the save. Arkansas starter Adam Leverett (2-2) was charged with the loss after giving up 6 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings.
— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Paul Boyd is an award-winning sportswriter who covers prep and college sports for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. He has covered sports in Arkansas for more than 30 years. Paul grew up in Northeast Arkansas and earned a journalism degree from Arkansas State University. He has been working in Northwest Arkansas since 2005.