Broderick Buhr Can Absolutely Rake

(Photo by Isaac Abrego)

By: Dillon Zamperin

VICTORIA, British Columbia — On Saturday, Broderick Buhr came into the game in the bottom of the seventh to play center field for Aiden Gebhard. In the eighth inning, he stepped up to the plate with one out and drove an 85 mph fastball in a 3-1 count over the left field fence of Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to break a 3-3 tie and give the Springfield Drifters a one-run lead over the Victoria HarbourCats. 

Even though the Drifters would go on to lose the heartbreaking game in extra innings, Buhr put on a show with his dinger. The pitch was thrown inside to the sophomore outfielder, who turned on it and hit it out of the ballpark with an exit velocity of 99 mph for his first home run of the season with Springfield. Buhr let out an emphatic bat flip, which went nearly as high as his homer.

“He got into that really well and obviously at an opportune time,” Pitching Coach Dean Stiles said after Saturday’s game. “He's coming off the bench to do that, too. He was ready when his number was called. And so those are things that he can build on when he goes back to school.”

In his next game on Sunday, Buhr went 2-for-4 with a single and a double against the HarbourCats in another dominant showing at the plate.

Buhr currently attends Bushnell University, which shares a home with the Drifters at Hamlin Sports Complex. The Southern California native has certainly gotten used to the 13-foot-high fences in Springfield, which haven’t seemed to affect him quite yet.

In 30 games with the Beacons during the spring, Buhr only started five games, but he made an impact every time he did. Buhr went 5-for-21 at the plate, but four of his five hits were for extra bases. He had three doubles with Bushnell and one 3-run home run at Hamlin Sports Complex against Oregon Tech on March 21.

Before college games even started this season, Buhr recorded an exit velocity of 107 mph in September 2025, demonstrating a high level of power at the plate.

However, the reason he can hit so hard likely stems from his experience as a defensive back and less as a quarterback during his high school days at Arlington High School in Riverside, California. 

Now playing baseball with the Drifters, Buhr is currently hitting .353 with one home run, four doubles, nine runs scored and an astonishing .529 slugging percentage in 13 games.

The slugger has slowly but surely made a name for himself, especially recently. In his past four games, he is 7-for-12 with three runs scored and one double, in addition to his big-time blast on Saturday.

Despite having 12 hits on the year — four for extra bases— and his recent success, Buhr only has one RBI. Nonetheless, he has been one of the best hitters for Springfield this season.

And even if baseball doesn’t pan out, Buhr is currently majoring in kinesiology with hopes of one day becoming a firefighter. Whether he is hitting barrels or breaking down doors, Buhr’s power is immeasurable, on or even off the field.

Since Buhr only signed a 10-day contract with the Drifters this spring, his tenure officially ended with the team on Sunday unless he is brought back later in the season. Either way, Buhr has been one of the biggest bright spots in a Springfield lineup in need of a spark and bat like his.

“He's answered and done what we've asked him to do,” Stiles said. “He picked out some pitches that he got into, and he'll be able to take that with him when he goes back to Bushnell in the fall.”