Drillers Comeback Falls Short in First Loss
Tulsa, OK – Following a warm, sunny opening night, the Tulsa Drillers and San Antonio Missions had to dodge rain showers in game two of their season-opening three-game series on Friday night. After San Antonio gifted the Drillers with ten walks the previous night, Tulsa pitching returned the favor by
Tulsa, OK – Following a warm, sunny opening night, the Tulsa Drillers and San Antonio Missions had to dodge rain showers in game two of their season-opening three-game series on Friday night. After San Antonio gifted the Drillers with ten walks the previous night, Tulsa pitching returned the favor by issuing 15 walks. The free passes helped the Missions defeat the Drillers 11-9 and hand them their first loss of the season.
The defeat was not without drama as the Drillers rallied for eight runs across the final four innings, but the walks proved too much as a double play ended Tulsa’s final threat in the bottom of the ninth with the potential game-winning run at the plate.
Walks plagued the Drillers early and often allowing San Antonio to take advantage in the second inning. The frame began with two walks, and Carson Tucker delivered a double and Albert Fabian followed with a three-run homer that put the Missions ahead 4-0.
Tulsa got on the board in the fourth when Zyhir Hope produced a sacrifice fly to bring home Josue De Paula.
A two-run double in the fourth allowed San Antonio to extend its lead to 6-1.
Tulsa added a second run in the bottom of the sixth, but unfortunately, the free passes did not stop as four more walks aided the Missions in their five-run seventh.
Trailing 11-2, the Drillers offense did not go down without a fight as Joe Vetrano supplied one of biggest swings of the night in the bottom half of the seventh, blasting a three-run homer.
An inning later, Kyle Nevin delivered his own three-run homer to cut the deficit to three.
With the deficit cut to 11-8 entering the ninth, De Paula singled to drive in Nelson Quiroz and bring the potential winning run to the plate. Following a strikeout by Kendall George, Nevin grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that ended the game.
GAME NOTES
*It was a tough season debut for Drillers starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski. The lefthander was charged with five runs on three hits and six walks over 3.2 innings.
*The 15 walks allowed matched the most surrendered in a game in the last 33 seasons by Tulsa pitchers.
*Tulsa out-hit the Missions 12-7.
*George was one of the bright spots for the Drillers offense. The speedy centerfielder earned three hits, all being infield singles. He also recorded three stolen bases. In 2025, Geroge stole 100 bases for High-A Great Lakes.
*Drillers pitchers threw 198 total pitches in the game with just 95 strikes.
*After a swift 2 hour and 19 minutes game on opening night, Friday’s contest took 3 hours and 34 minutes to complete.
*Nick Nastrini and Nick Robertson both made their season debuts on the mound. The duo had each previously pitched for the Drillers and have since pitched in the major leagues.
*The Drillers debuted their new Tulsa Connect jerseys in the game. The navy uniform features an oil derrick logo on the cap with the jersey designed to honor the centennial anniversary of Route 66.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will play the final game of their season-opening, three-game series with the Missions on Saturday night. The game’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at ONEOK Field and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
SAN – RHP Ian Koenig (5-8, 5.40 ERA in 2025)
TUL – RHP Patrick Copen (1-6, 4.52 ERA in 2025)