Jake Gelof sent a fifth-inning drive soaring beyond the pavilion in left-center field Thursday night, the kind of swing that can settle a game and claim a place in club history at once.
Gelof’s two-run homer, his 33rd of the season, matched the Tulsa franchise record and lifted the Drillers to a 3-2 victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark. Those were Tulsa’s final runs, leaving its pitching staff to protect a shrinking lead through a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and one last threat in the ninth.
The Drillers were outhit 7-5, but Gelof supplied nearly half of their offense. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk, and his biggest swing came after a Northwest Arkansas mistake helped Tulsa extend the fifth inning.
Taylor Young opened it with a single, but Kole Myers replaced him on a force play. An errant throw allowed Myers to advance to second, and Logan Wagner’s groundout moved him to third. Gelof followed by launching Grant Gambrell’s next pitch high and deep to left-center, clearing the pavilion for a 3-1 lead.
It was Tulsa’s answer to Spencer Nivens, whose leadoff homer in the fourth had barely cleared the right-field fence near the bullpen and tied the game. Nivens added a double in the sixth and finished 2-for-4, but the Naturals could not bring him home from second.
Tulsa had built its first lead with a compact second-inning rally. Sean McLain bounced a single through the middle, stole second and scored when Young lined a ball into right-center. Young went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, while McLain had a hit, a run and the stolen base.
That early advantage gave Myles Caba something to work with. Caba allowed only Nivens’ homer over four innings, striking out five without a walk. Payton Martin followed with two scoreless innings, working around Angel Acosta’s second hit of the night in the fifth and Nivens’ double in the sixth. Martin earned the win and improved to 6-3.
The game tightened considerably in the seventh. Lucas Wepf allowed a leadoff single to Justin Johnson, hit Canyon Brown and struck out Alberto Rodriguez. Acosta then lashed a double down the right-field line, scoring Brown and cutting Tulsa’s lead to 3-2.
Wepf walked Connor Rasmussen and Sam Kulasingam to load the bases before Cam Day entered to face Nivens, the Naturals’ most dangerous hitter on the night. Day got him to fly out to right, preserving the lead with all three runners stranded.
That escape became even more important when Tulsa’s offense went quiet. Coleman Picard held the Drillers scoreless over the final four innings and struck out five, retiring all 12 batters he faced.
Day carried the lead through the eighth, although Northwest Arkansas again put a runner aboard. Connor Scott drew a one-out walk before Johnson flied to right, where Jose Izarra’s throw helped double Scott off first to end the inning. Day recorded the hold with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Carson Hobbs retired the first two batters in the ninth, bringing Tulsa within one out of a clean finish. Acosta refused to let it be easy. His line-drive single to right was his fourth hit in four at-bats and put the tying run aboard.
Hobbs responded by striking out Rasmussen to secure his fifth save.
The final pitch completed a night built around one enormous swing and several smaller acts of resistance. Gelof put Tulsa ahead and tied the record. The bullpen made sure his 33rd homer held up.