Delta Cleary made sure Tulsa walked away a winner Tuesday night.
Cleary's game-winning single off Mark Peterson with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gave the the Drillers a 6-5 victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in front of an announced crowd of 4,676 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
It also capped a big night for the Drillers' leadoff man, who went 4 for 5 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored while leading an offense that banged out 12 hits off three Naturals pitchers.
Reliever Kraig Sitton (4-7) didn't give up a hit over the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the victory. He struck out one and walked a batter.
Brandon Finnegan (0-3), the second Naturals pitcher of the night, blew a save opportunity and was saddled with the loss after coming into the game in the eighth inning with a 5-4 lead.
Cleary was the only batter Peterson faced.
Jorge Bonifacio and Juan Graterol accounted for five of the Naturals' 11 hits. Graterol drove in 3 runs and finished the night 2 for 3, which included a home run and an RBI double. Bonifacio was 3 for 4 with 1 run scored.
Tulsa (26-34) took a 3-1 lead in the first inning, but the Naturals (27-37) tied it with Graterol's two-run double in the second. Northwest Arkansas took a 5-3 lead in the seventh on home runs by Graterol and Parker Morin.
The Drillers pulled to within a run in the eighth when Cleary singled, stole second and eventually scored on a single by Taylor Featherston.
Sports on 08/27/2014