Drifters Debrief: Week 12

Austin Takahashi batting for the Lane Titans

Springfield — Incoming Drifter Diego Vazquez had a monstrous weekend at the plate, going 8-for-15 with six RBIs across four games at the 3C2A Regionals for Fullerton College, which headlines this week’s Drifters Debrief. The Oregon State commit finished with one double and three walks during a 3-1 weekend for the Hornets.

Vazquez’s future teammates, Austin Takahashi and Zac Daigre also had big weekends at the dish. Takahashi, an infielder from Lane Community College, hit .455 with a triple, a double, two runs, and an RBI across three games for the Titans. Daigre, who plays at Rice, finished 4-for-10 with a double and four RBIs during the Owls’ three-game series versus UAB. The trio will also be joined by Hunter Meyer, a freshman outfielder at Cal State Fullerton, who extended his hit streak to six games this past week, going 5-for-16 with four runs scored for the Titans across four games against San Diego State and UC Davis. 

On the mound, 2026 returners Matthew Tacheny and Kaden Harris continued to find success. Tacheny fired five scoreless innings for Linfield against Lewis & Clark while fanning five and walking none. Harris, a right-hander from Mount Marty, only allowed one run across six innings for the Lancers.

Southpaw Griffin Scott, who is also joining the Drifters this summer, had another strong outing for Lane, allowing just two runs in 6.1 innings pitched for the Titans. The Oregon commit struck out six and walked just two against the defending NWAC champs, Linn-Benton. 

Elsewhere on the bump, Drifters alum Eli Holbert (22’ & 23’) had his best start of the season for Virginia Commonwealth. The hard-throwing right-hander only needed 80 pitches to complete seven innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs while striking out four and walking three. Austin Wolfe, who played with Holbert on the Drifters in 2023, struck out seven Oregon Tech batters across seven innings of three-run baseball in the CCC Tournament for Bushnell. 

At the plate, alumni Andrew Gauna (24’ & 25’), Nick Gimino (25’) and Bobby Blanford (24’) had standout performances. Gauna, in his return to Oregon, hit .500, going 6-for-12 at the plate with five RBIs and a double for San Diego during the Toreros three-game series on the bluff against Portland. Gimino, who has had an excellent season at Oregon Tech after redshirting last spring at Cal Poly, continued to tear it up offensively for the Owls, hitting .455 with a home run, a double and four RBIs in the CCC Tournament this past weekend. Blanford, who is one of five Drifters alumni currently playing minor league baseball, hit two home runs during a 7-for-17 week at the plate for the Stockton Ports against the Fresno Grizzlies at the Class-A level.

Also notable from this past week, incoming Drifter Peyton Tyner hit his first career collegiate home run during Lane’s four-game series against Linn-Benton. Ely Kennel (24’) also hit a home run, as a part of a 5-for-13 weekend at the plate for Linfield, driving in four runs during their series against Lewis & Clark. Isaac Evaniew (22’) and Toby Twist (23’) each pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Arkansas-Little Rock and Oregon, respectively. Evaniew fanned two batters while Twist struck out three. 

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.