Drifters Debrief: Week 10

Hunter Dryden delivers a pitch during the 2023 season.

Springfield — Drifters pitchers, past and present, flashed this weekend, with several dominant, low-contact performances. Alum, Hunter Dryden (22’ & 23’) fanned out five over four hitless innings for the Eugene Emeralds, and future Drifters Griffin Scott and Lucas Geren each had scoreless outings for Lane in wins against Clackamas. Scott struck out seven over five one-hit innings, while Geren allowed only two hits over five innings with six Ks. 

Soon-to-be Drifters Andrew Miller, Dante Santulli, and Michael Klein also had scoreless outings. Miller struck out two while allowing three hits across three innings and two outings for George Fox. Santulli fanned three across two innings against Olympic for Lower Columbia, and Klein retired three batters on strikes across two innings of two-hit baseball for Rogers State. 

Elsewhere on the mound, Ethan Atchley (26’) and Trey Newman (23’) each had big strikeout performances. Atchley, a right-hander from Rice, struck out nine batters in six innings pitched against Sam Houston and Memphis, and Newman punched out 12 San Francisco batters across six innings for Portland. 

2026 Drifter pitchers Matthew Tacheny, Keenan Anzai, and Jack Klee also had strong, quality starts. Tacheny tossed a season-high 7.1 innings, allowing just two runs against Whitman for Linfield. Anzai, who had a complete game shutout last week for UC Davis, pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing seven hits with two strikeouts for the Aggies. Klee, who returns to Springfield after playing for the squad last season, allowed only three hits with two runs given up in a win for Chemeketa against Mt. Hood. 

At the plate, several alumni found success. Ryan Cooney (23’) had a monstrous weekend for Oregon, going 9-for-13 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBIs, and six runs scored in a series victory over Illinois. Andrew Gauna had a walk-off hit on Sunday for San Diego, a part of a 6-for-14 weekend at the dish with a double and four RBIs against Seattle. Brandon Stinett (24’), who plays at Seattle, went 5-for-15 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs for the RedHawks in their series against the Toreros. 

Other notable alumni performances at the plate include Bushnell Beacons Dylan Carson (24’ & 25’), Danny Womack (24’) and Chase Nye (24’ & 25’) each homering against Lewis-Clark State, Mac Moyer (22’) going 6-for-14 with a home run and four RBIs for Nebraska against USC, Cesar Chavez hitting .471 with eight hits for Cal State Los Angeles and Gage Bruce hitting two doubles during a five RBI weekend for Portland against San Francisco. 

Looking ahead to 2026, Peyton Tyner, Austin Takahashi, and Karsten Hansen all had solid weekends offensively. Tyner and Takahashi, who both play at Lane, combined to go 9-for-23 (.391) with two doubles, eight RBIs, and six runs scored against Clackamas, and Hansen picked up six hits in 10 at-bats with five RBIs, four runs, and three steals versus Olympic for Lower Columbia. 

Also notable from this weekend, future Drifter and two-way player Colton Perez appeared on the mound for the first time in a month for Vanguard and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings with three K’s for the Lions. He also went 1-4 at the dish offensively. Cooper Mullens, who is returning to Springfield for his fourth season with the Drifters in 2026, went 2-for-2 with an RBI across two games for Michigan in the Wolverines series against Northwestern.

You can view the full list of Drifters alumni currently playing college baseball on the alumni and records page here.

The Springfield Drifters begin their fifth season of West Coast League baseball on May 29, with their first home game scheduled for June 2. You can view the full schedule here. Season tickets are now on sale at driftersbaseball.com with single-game tickets available here.