Big First Inning Leads to Win, Drops Drillers’ Magic Number to 2

Published on September 12, 2025 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release

Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers entered Friday night hoping to enhance their chances of claiming the final playoff spot from the Texas League’s North Division. Thanks to a big first inning and impressive pitching from Wyatt Crowell and Chris Campos, the Drillers did move a small step closer to that playoff berth with a 7-1 victory over the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field.

The win lowered Tulsa’s magic number to two as Wichita also won, defeating Corpus Christi 8-3 to remain on the Drillers’ heels. The Drillers need a combination wins and Wichita losses that totals two to claim the final playoff berth. There are two games remaining in the regular season.

Tulsa began Friday’s game by scoring in the first inning for the third consecutive game. The Drillers sent 11 batters to the plate and scored five runs on three hits, three walks, a fielder’s choice and an error.

Chris Newell and Zyhir Hope were each credited with an RBI, and Taylor Young drove in two with his single. The big inning ended the night for Arkansas starting pitcher Reid VanScoter, who recorded two outs and threw 41 pitches in the first inning.

Both teams scored a run in the fourth inning as a bases-loaded groundout produced the Travs only run. James Tibbs III drove in Zach Ehrhard with a triple in the bottom half to make the score 6-1.

Griffin Lockwood-Powell added Tulsa’s seventh run in the seventh inning with his RBI single that scored Tibbs III.

The Drillers got an outstanding performance in the crucial game from starting pitcher Crowell. The southpaw allowed only one run on three hits with five strikeouts in his five innings of work.

Campos took over for Crowell to start the sixth inning and shut out Arkansas for the remainder of the game. In the final four innings, Campos allowed just three base runners on three hits while striking out three hitters. The performance earned him the first save of his professional career in just his second opportunity.

INSIDE THE GAME

*Crowell earned his first win at the Double-A level. He also lowered his ERA to 2.75 with the performance.

*The duo of Campos and Crowell are now 4-0 when pitching on the same day and have allowed just four combined runs in those games.

*Kole Myers and Tibbs III increased their hitting streaks to seven games.

*Ehrhard earned two hits in the win and increased his on-base streak to 13 straight games. He has reached base 28 total times during the…