Tulsa’s offense spent Tuesday night refusing to help Northwest Arkansas pitchers escape. The Drillers drew 12 walks, turning their patience into two decisive rallies and a 7-5 victory at Arvest Ballpark that pushed their franchise-record win total to 84.
Four runs came in the first inning, before the Naturals could settle into the game. Three more arrived in the sixth, just after Northwest Arkansas had trimmed what once looked like a comfortable lead to one.
Tulsa finished with only six hits. It did not need many more.
Taylor Young opened the game with a single, and walks to Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota loaded the bases against Shane Panzini. Jake Gelof took another walk to force home Young, the first of three free passes and two RBIs for Tulsa’s designated hitter.
Kole Myers followed with a sharp grounder up the middle. Second baseman Justin Johnson made a diving stop and knocked the ball down, allowing De Paula to score, then recovered in time to throw out Sirota at the plate. The play prevented a second run from crossing, but it did not stop the inning.
Elijah Hainline walked to reload the bases, and Panzini’s outing ended after one out. Augusto Mendieta entered and walked Logan Wagner, forcing home Gelof, before Frank Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly brought in Myers for a 4-0 lead.
The Naturals made Tulsa work to keep it. Luke Pelzer, who reached in all five of his plate appearances, singled and scored in the first, then doubled and scored in the third. Connor Scott drove a ball toward the right-center-field gap in the fourth, beyond the reach of Myers and Sirota, and raced into third with a triple. Canyon Brown’s sacrifice fly cut the lead to 4-3.
Adam Serwinowski allowed three earned runs over 3⅔ innings, striking out four and walking four. Christian Ruebeck got the final out of the fourth and worked through the fifth without allowing a run, earning the win with 1⅓ scoreless innings.
Tulsa’s lineup answered before the Naturals could pull even.
Rodriguez opened the sixth by lining a ball into the left-center gap and to the wall for a double. After two strikeouts, De Paula walked and Sirota was hit by a pitch, giving Gelof another bases-loaded plate appearance. Gelof again drew a run-scoring walk, bringing Rodriguez home.
Myers supplied the inning’s central hit against Zachary Cawyer. His grounder struck the pitcher and deflected toward shortstop Daniel Vazquez, leaving no play as De Paula scored. Hainline followed with another bases-loaded walk, pushing the lead to 7-3.
The two rallies shared the same formula: crowded bases, controlled at-bats and just enough contact. Gelof went 1-for-2 with three walks and two RBIs, while Myers went 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run. Rodriguez doubled, scored once and drove in a run.
Northwest Arkansas got one run back against Kelvin Ramirez in the sixth after a Hyungchan Um walk and Pelzer’s second double. Evan Shaw quieted the Naturals from there, working two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks.
The last test belonged to Carson Hobbs. Vazquez opened the ninth with a double, and Johnson grounded a single into left to make it 7-5 before an out was recorded. Hobbs responded by retiring Scott on a grounder, striking out Brown and getting Alberto Rodriguez to ground out, securing his fourth save.
Pelzer went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two runs for Northwest Arkansas. Tulsa countered by making nearly every lapse in command matter. The Drillers turned six hits and a dozen walks into their 84th win, extending a franchise record that had already moved well beyond the previous mark of 78.