TULSA — Patrick Keating walked pinch-hitter Bronson Sardinha with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to score the winning run as Tulsa defeated Northwest Arkansas 7-6 before 7,022 at ONEOK Field on Tuesday.
The Naturals (19-11) trailed 4-1 but scored two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the eighth on a home run by first baseman Eric Hosmer to take a 6-5 lead. Hosmer, who went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, is now batting .348 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI in just 46 atbats with the Naturals.
Helped by left fielder Anthony Seratelli’s one-out error, the Drillers (19-12) loaded the bases off reliever Henry Barrera and tied the score 6-6 on a single by Wilin Rosario in the ninth. Keating faced justone batter, walking Sardinha to end the game.
Northwest Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Paulo Orlando, but Orlando was thrown out at third on theplay trying to stretch it into a triple. Tulsa answered with three runs in the bottom of the first on a leadoff groundrule double by Anthony Jackson, an RBI single by Rosario and a two-run home run by Jason Van Kooten.
The Drillers extended their lead to 4-1 when Charles Blackmon led off the bottom of the third with his seventh home run of the season. After the Naturals cut their deficit to 4-3 in the fifth, Warren Schaeffer doubled in a runto make it 5-3 in the seventh, and Barrera replaced Naturals starter Edgar Osuna with two out in the inning with runners on first and third.
Barrera (1-1) escaped further damage in the in the inning but allowed 2 runs, 1 of which was earned, off 3 hits and took the loss. Osuna did not walk a batter and struck out 3 but gave up 5 runs and:8 hits in 6 2 /3 innings.
Drillers starter Brandon Durden had no strikeouts but lasted 7 1 /3 innings, allowing 4 runs off 8 hits and walking 1. Chris Malone (3-3) finished off the Naturals with 1 1 /3 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Derrick Robinson, Johnny Giavotella, Tim Smith and Hosmer had 2 hits apiece to lead Northwest Arkansas on offense. Seratelli cut the Drillers’ lead to 5-3 with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his third of the year.
Naturals at a glance WHO NW Arkansas at Tulsa WHEN 7:05 p.m. tonight WHERE ONEOK Field, Tulsa PITCHERS NW Arkansas: Eduardo Paulino (RHP, 7-5, 4.26 ERA); Tulsa Ethan Hollingsworth (RHP, 0-0, 13.50 ERA) RADIO KQSM-FM, 92.1 WEB SITE nwanaturals.com THE WEEK AHEAD TODAY at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
THURSDAY at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
FRIDAY at Springfield, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY at Springfield, 6:10 p.m.
SUNDAY at Springfield, (DH), 5:10 p.m. MONDAY at Springfield, 6:10 p.m.
TUESDAY vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 20 on 07/28/2010