Clemens Leads Drillers Past Hooks
TULSA, Okla. – Corpus Christi first baseman Koby Clemens made ONEOK Field history Friday night in the top of the first inning by hitting the first home run in the stadium’s history. The two-run blast helped stake the Hooks to an early lead that they never relinquished and helped keep the Tulsa Drillers winless in their new park.
The Hooks scored three runs in the first and four more in the second in defeating the Drillers 9-3.
The Drillers fell into a quick hole in the loss. The game’s first hitter, J.B. Shuck, started the early rally with a double to right field off Cory Riordan who was making his Double A debut. T.J. Steele followed with a routine, infield grounder, but Tulsa shortstop Hector Gomez threw wildly to first, allowing Steele to reach and Shuck to score the game’s first run.
Clemens, who is the son of 7-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, made it 3-0 with his homer into the left field terrace seating.
The Hooks continued their early uprising with four more runs in the top of the second. With one out, Shuck walked and Steele singled. After a passed ball allowed Shuck to score, Steele came home on a base hit by German Duran.
Consecutive singles by Clemens and Jon Gaston gave the Hooks a 5-0 lead. They added two more runs before the inning ended with right fielder Ryan Harvey throwing out Jhon Florentino at home attempting to score on a base hit by Wladimir Sutil.
The Drillers plated their first run of the season in the bottom of the third without the benefit of a hit. After being struck by a pitch, Anthony Jackson advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third with a stolen base. He came home on a wild pitch.
After the Hooks upped their lead to 8-1 with a run in the sixth, the Drillers scored twice in the eighth. Radamas Nazario walked and Kenny Perez singled in front of a two-run double by Scott Beerer.
Corpus Christi added a lone run in the top of the ninth to close the scoring.
The Drillers were charged with four errors in the game, including two by Gomez. The Tulsa shortstop left the game in the fifth inning with a back injury that he apparently suffered before the game.
Tulsa finished the game with ten hits, including three from Perez. Beerer and Kiel Roling were both 2-4.
Clemens led a 14-hit Hooks attack with a 3-5 night.
Riordan was charged with the loss, surrendering 11 hits and 8 runs (7 ER) in 5.2 innings.
A crowd of 7,084 watched the action.
Tulsa will look for its first win of the young season when the two teams wrap up their three-game season opening series at 6:05PM Saturday night at ONEOK Field. Brandon Durden will take the mound for the Drillers against Fernando Abad of the Hooks.
Updated 04-11-2010
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