With the calendar turning to 2013, it won't be long until baseball's Spring Training is underway. With that in mind, let's start turning our attention toward the Tulsa Drillers and what will be awaiting fans at ONEOK Field this season.
In this and upcoming articles, I'll be breaking down the Drillers schedule month-by-month. Today, we'll look at the April portion of the 2013 slate.
Tulsa opens the season on Thursday, April 4, at San Antonio with a three-game series against the Missions before moving on to Corpus Christi for a three-game series versus the Hooks. Tulsa will have the day off before its home opener at ONEOK Field on Thursday, April 11, against the Missions. The first homestand of the season will run for six consecutive days through April 16 and will include three games each against San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
Tulsa opened the 2012 season with the exact same format, and started the season with a 9-3 mark on its way to winning the first-half division title. Tulsa claimed two of three games in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, then won five of six in the opening homestand against those same two teams.
Following the initial homestand, the Drillers hit the road to open division play on Thursday, April 18, with a four-game set at Northwest Arkansas before returning to Tulsa for an eight-game homestand against Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas.
April concludes with Tulsa in North Little Rock to face the Travelers in the opener of a four-game series.
Some games of note in April...
Friday, April 12 ... Fireworks Friday
Monday, April 15 ... Weekday Day Game (12:05 p.m.)
Friday, April 26 ... Fireworks Friday
Monday, April 29 ... Weekday Day Game (11:05 a.m.)
Scheduling notes
Overall, the Texas League will again play a 140-game split season, with the first half concluding on June 19.
Tulsa will play a total of 70 home games with 41 of games occurring on either a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Drillers will play 14 home games during the month of April, 15 in May, 11 in June, 17 in July, and 13 in August.
The normal starting time for evening games at ONEOK Field will remain at 7:05 p.m. Sunday home games in April, May, and June (with the exception of May 26) will begin at 2:05 p.m., while Sunday games the remainder of the year will have the standard start time of 7:05 p.m.
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