Drillers falter to Texarkana

Too many walks and too little offense did in the El Dorado Drillers on Monday night, as Texarkana knocked off the Drillers 17-5 in the Arkansas American Legion Junior Zone 4 Tournament at the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex.

The win clinches a spot in the state tournament for Texarkana, while El Dorado will face the winner of the contest between Sheridan and Stuttgart for the second spot late Tuesday night.

The Drillers responded from an early 2-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first.

With one out, Baylor Brumley walked, and Reed Stone followed with a run-scoring double to right to get the Drillers on the scoreboard.

Charles Hoof struck out for the inning’s second out, but strike three was dropped, and Stone took third on the throw to first to retire Hoof.

Jack Smith walked to put runners at the corners, and Tyler Martin followed with an infield single to score Stone with the tying run.

A throwing error on the play allowed Smith to take third, and he scored moments later on a wild pitch to give the Drillers their first lead.

Martin went to second on the wild pitch, and Chase Webb delivered an RBI single to left to make it 4-2.

However, the lead would not last long.

Texarkana scored three runs in the second with Liam Rogers drawing a bases-loaded walk to bring home Dylan Rushing with the go-ahead run.

The walk to Rogers was the fourth in the inning, and Texarkana drew at least two walks in every inning sans the third when they had one.

Rogers also drove in a run in the fourth with a bunt that scored Daegan Covington, who had doubled and taken third on a wild pitch.

Leading 6-4, Texarkana broke the game open with five runs in the fifth and six runs in the sixth.

In the fifth, Texarkana capitalized on four walks with Braden Larry collecting an RBI on a bunt single.

Dylan Turley had the big blow in the sixth, lacing a two-run double to the gap in right-center.

Cody Adcock survived the first and kept the Drillers in check until permitting a run in the fifth on an RBI groundout by

Hoof that scored Brumley, who reached on an error with one out.

Adcock allowed four hits in five

innings to pick up the win. He walked two and struck out 10.

Covington, who opened the scoring with a two-run single in the first, had three RBIs in the win.

Jacob Eubanks, the first of five pitchers the Drillers used, suffered the loss, working 1 1/3 innings.