Drifters’ Late Battle with Marion Falls Short in 3-2 Loss
(Photo by Ella Poor)
By Henry Light
SALEM – An early pitchers’ duel in Salem gave way to a back-and-forth battle late, ending in the Berries edging the Drifters 3-2 in the series finale at Chemeketa Baseball Field.
Springfield’s (15-24, 12-18) three-hit rally in the eighth inning provided the go-ahead run, but UCLA sophomore Tyler Dunning provided the Berries (15-22, 11-19) a decisive two-run single in the bottom of the inning and clutch defense in the top of the ninth to avoid the sweep. Aiden Gebhard anchored the Drifters’ pitching staff through the first four innings, while Cooper Mullens, Matthew Bollinger and Zach Story each collected two hits for the offense.
“When you only give up three runs and have 11 hits, it’s usually a recipe for a win,” Drifters head coach Jeff Lyle said. “Today was an exception — we got baseballed.”
After going 2-for-4 at the plate yesterday, Gebhard excelled through strong command of his curveball, which he effectively mixed with his fastball and kept hitters off balance with the occasional change-up.
Gebhard stranded two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across the four frames. His 59-pitch outing, one day after appearing in the lineup, was a season-high, and the timing was crucial after the Drifters used eight relievers in games one and two.
Marion’s starter Colten Amai Nakagawa matched him for six innings, striking out nine Drifters batters, and the Berries rewarded him by positioning him for the win with a run in the bottom of the sixth.
“Hat tip to their starter; he threw well and kept us off balance,” Lyle said.
With one out in the seventh, the Drifters got to work on a tying run. Bollinger lined a slider into center field for a single, and on the next pitch Story laid down a perfect bunt in front of the third baseman. Marion kept the Drifters searching for the tying run with a strikeout and a pop out to end the frame.
Drew Miller stranded runners at the corners with a strikeout to end the seventh inning, and Springfield’s offense started a new rally.
Chase Nye led off with a walk, Mullens singled to left-center field and Colton Perez loaded the bases by pulling back a bunt and slapping a ground ball through the right side of the infield. Evan Thomas tied the game with a single up the middle before Preston Armstrong put the Drifters ahead 2-1 by ending a ten-pitch at-bat with a sacrifice fly to left field.
“It was nice to punch back in the eighth, but unfortunately we hit a couple guys and couldn’t keep them off the board,” Lyle said.
Even after Marion retook the lead, Springfield kept rallying, achieving its third straight multi-hit inning in the top of the ninth. Hunter Meyer and Nye’s back-to-back one-out singles gave the Drifters one more chance, but the rally fell just short as Dunning made a sliding play at third to rob Mullens of an extra-base hit that would’ve scored a run and Perez struck out to finish the game with the tying run in scoring position.
The Drifters open a three-game series in Portland on July 21st, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The games can be streamed on the Pickles’ YouTube channel and on the WCL Live app for free.