 August 4, 2004 - Tuesday night’s game between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers was very similar to Monday night’s game. For the second straight night the Drillers staged a late rally to turn defeat into victory. In Tuesday’s comeback, Tulsa rode the bat of third baseman Jeff Baker to a 7-3 win over the Travelers.
The Drillers trailed 3-0 on Tuesday entering the seventh inning when the offense finally awakened. A one out walk by Shawn Garrett was followed by a single from Jayson Nix. Juan Piniella then ended the shutout with a single to right field that plated Garrett. After Dan Conway singled, Tony Miller cut the Travs lead to 3-2 with a sacrifice fly that scored Nix.
Miller then used his glove in the bottom of the seventh to keep the Travs lead at only one run and to keep the Drillers in the game. With two outs and runners at second and third, Nick Gorneault hit a sinking liner into right center field that Miller snared with a headfirst dive to end the inning and keep Tulsa in the game.
Baker then took over for the Drillers. In the eighth inning, the third baseman followed a Danny Sandoval double with a blast over the wall in center field off Arkansas reliever Steve Andrade to put the Drillers in front 4-3. After the homer, Nix and Piniella doubled to give Tulsa a 2-run lead.
In the ninth inning, Baker gave the Drillers a pair of insurance runs with a towering double off the wall in left field that scored Ryan Shealy and Jeff Salazer and put Tulsa in front 7-3. Baker finished the game 2-5 with four runs batted in.
Tulsa reliever Mike Cosgrove, who entered the game in the eighth inning, retired the Travelers in the bottom of the ninth to record his first Double A save. Emmanuel Ramirez (2-5) picked-up the win in relief of starter Kip Bouknight despite retiring only one hitter. Bouknight worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing 11 hits and 3 runs.
Andrade suffered the loss to fall to 1-2.
Nix finished 3-4 for the Drillers with two runs scored while Shealy, Sandoval and Piniella joined Baker with two hits each.
The win allowed Tulsa to finish its 8-game road-trip with a 3-5 record, including a 2-2 mark in Little Rock.
The Drillers will begin a 4-game homestand against the first-place Wichita Wranglers Thursday night at Drillers Stadium. Justin Hampson (8-5) will take the mound for Tulsa against Thad Markray (1-3) for Wichita. Game time will be 7:05PM.
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