Approaching the biggest at-bat of his season, Joseph Odom had a pretty good idea of what was coming in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night.
The Arkansas Travelers' catcher was teammates with Tulsa's Layne Somsen in the Arizona Fall League three years ago, and from that experience he knew Somsen relied on his cut fastball in key situations.
"It's his best pitch," Odom said.
With the Travs trailing 4-3 and runners on second and third with two outs, Odom waited. When the cutter came on Somsen's 2-1 pitch, he ripped a ground ball that ricocheted off Tulsa third baseman Zach McKinstry and into left field, scoring Joey Curletta and Kyle Lewis to give the Travs a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Texas League North Division Series at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
It also gave the Travs a lead in their first playoff series since 2015, but it didn't come easy. Starter Williams Perez exited in the second inning after taking a line drive off his right arm, and Tulsa catcher Keibert Ruiz's two-run homer gave the Drillers their 4-3 lead in the eighth inning.
"When they hit the home run, we knew we had to stay in it," Odom said. "The biggest thing was not to try to do too much. Just do what we do and pass it off to the next guy."
Tied 1-1 in the top of the second inning Perez, who was 2-0 with a 1.07 ERA in 4 starts against Tulsa this season, turned his back on a line drive hit by McKinstry, only to end up sprawled on the grass after it ricocheted off his right arm and into the glove of shortstop Yonathan Mendoza.
Perez walked off under his own power, and Travs Manager Darren Brown said he was in good spirits after the game. But, it required the Travs' bullpen to contribute much earlier than expected.
"You can plan all you want, but the game is going to dictate what you do," Brown said.
Reliever Matt Walker held Tulsa to one run over 2 1/3 innings, Matt Tenuta held it scoreless over 2 1/3, but Nick Rumbelow issued a lead-off walk to Drew Jackson to briefly wake up an offense that led the Texas League in home runs (184) and runs scored (687).
Ruiz's homer to right field followed, giving the Drillers the lead to set up Odom's heroics.
Against Somsen, who hadn't allowed a run in his previous eight appearances, Curletta led off the ninth with a single, then Kyle Lewis, whose two-run homer in the third gave the Travs a 3-1 lead, singled to center, and stole second base to set things up for Odom's game-winner.
"One thing we have done, is we have played one game this year that we had to win and we won it," said Brown, referring to a playoff with Northwest Arkansas to decide the first-half North Division champion. "But, I like the way they fought until the last out and got it done."
Today's game
ARKANSAS TRAVELERS VS. TULSA DRILLERS
WHEN 6:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: LHP Anthony Misiewicz (3-12, 5.24 ERA); Drillers: LHP Ben Holmes (3-2, 2.84 ERA)
TICKETS $12 box, $8 reserved ($5 kids), $6 general admission ($4 kids). Gates open one hour before first pitch.
PROMOTIONS Thirsty Thursday with beverages and snacks available for $2, as well as $2 general admission tickets at the box office.
A LOOK AHEAD
TODAY vs. Tulsa, 6:10 p.m.
FRIDAY at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
SATURDAY x-at Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.
SUNDAY x-at Tulsa, 1:05 p.m.
x-if necessary
Sports on 09/06/2018