Drifters Drop Series Finale to Berries in Extras
(Photo by Isaac Abrego)
By Henry Light
SPRINGFIELD – After taking an early lead, the Drifters strung together multiple late rallies in pursuit of a sweep of the Berries, but Marion pulled out a 7-6 win in 10 innings.
Springfield (19-26, 16-20) raced out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a triple and a home run by Kahaku Harrison and a scoreless four-inning start by Aiden Gebhard, but mistakes on the mound and in the field spotted Marion (18-27, 14-14) too many runs to catch up. The three-error night reversed the trend of consistent defense for the Drifters, but the series win over Marion keeps them squarely in the playoff race.
“It’s a tough loss when you go ten innings and leave it all on the table, but there’s some good things that we saw,” Drifters pitching coach Dean Stiles said. “We saw eight arms tonight, we got a chance to see some new kids, and we’re gonna bounce back and head for Yakima with our heads up, ready to go again.”
After a tepid start for the Drifters’ offense, Harrison sparked it in the second with a fast-falling line drive into center field that eluded a diving catch for a triple. Matthew Bolinger then gave the Drifters a 1-0 lead with a line-drive single to left-center field.
Gebhard finished a strong start by escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the fourth inning. Gebhard picked up his fourth and fifth strikeouts before ending the inning with a pop out.
“I think when he throws his changeup and then comes back with his breaking ball, it helps with the extension, and of course his fastball is pretty electric for his size,” Stiles said.
Harrison doubled the Drifters’ lead in the fourth inning, timing up an up-and-in slider and belting it over the left-field wall. Harrison’s fourth homer of the season came just a day after his third, continuing the hot streak he started in mid-July before an injury held him out for a week.
“Hawk is going to the plate with a different type of confidence, and it’s fun to watch,” Stiles said. “We had a situation at the end where he had a chance, and he was the guy we wanted to be in there.”
The Berries found more success against the Drifters’ bullpen, plating one run in the fifth inning before rallying with two outs in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.
With Springfield needing a response, Hunter Meyer lined the first pitch of the home sixth into right field for a double. Cooper Mullens brought the Drifters within one with an RBI single before scoring from first to tie the game on a double by Nolan Miller. Marion’s inning went from bad to worse, and the Drifters pulled ahead 6-4 on wild pitches.
Miller’s run-scoring double tied Jack Brooks’ year-old Drifters single-season record of 12.
“It’s pretty cool to know that chasing records is also helping the team win, but I’m also not thinking about the records and just trying to do the job,” Miller said.
Marion re-tied the game in the top of the seventh inning with two unearned runs in a two-error inning for the Drifters.
The Drifters were held to singles in the seventh and eighth innings, while Austin Vaughn and Owen Cheyne posted scoreless innings on the mound to set up a walk-off opportunity.
Springfield loaded the bases through walks with two outs, but the Berries escaped to set up extra innings.
Karsten Hansen quickly erased the automatic runner on second base in the top of the tenth, tracking down a deep fly ball in center field and firing a bullet to third base to complete the double play. Marion then took its 7-6 lead on a 106-mph single to left field, and despite putting runners on second and third with one out, the Drifters came up short.
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing; We’ve got a nice, relaxed atmosphere, the kids are playing good baseball, they’re having fun, and they enjoy each other,” Stiles said. “They’re very resilient, so we’re excited to get on the road and try again.”
The Drifters open a three-game set in Yakima on July 28, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. The games can be streamed on the Pippins’ YouTube channel or on the WCL Live app for free.