Drifters Stumble Late, Fall 12-8 to Bend on Opening Day
Jaycob Villalpando practicing during Drifters Fan Fest & Media Day on May 28
By Knight Jarecki
BEND —Jaycob Villalpando and Jack Klee had strong season debuts, but the Springfield Drifters (0-1, 0-1) squandered a six-run lead late and fell to the Bend Elks (1-0, 1-0) 12-8 on opening day in front of a crowd of over 1,000 at Vince Genna Stadium.
Villalpando, who was playing in his first game in over a year after missing this spring due to an injury he sustained last season at Fresno City College, proved to be a spark plug for the Drifters' offense, ripping an RBI single to right in the 2nd inning and smacking a two-RBI single up the middle in the 5th to begin the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
“I've been training this past year to really get back and be able to compete,” Villalpando said. “Today was the first day I could go out there and compete. Like, I know how to do and love to do so it was a blast.”
Springfield scored two runs in the second inning and five runs in the fifth inning to build a 7-1 lead. The bottom of the order did most of the damage, with Broderick Buhr, Peyton Tyner, Jaycob Villalpando and Austin Takahashi combining to hit 8-for-18 (.444) with four RBIs and seven runs scored.
“They were impressive,” Head Coach Jeff Lyle said. “It’s a really cool thing when the bottom of the lineup can do that. Now we get those guys that we know are going to come around in the top of the lineup, and that could lead to some big offensive games for us this summer.”
Klee, a right-hander from Chemeketa who pitched for the Drifters last season, earned the opening-day start. He allowed one unearned run in the first inning and then retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced over the second, third and fourth innings. The Beaverton, Oregon, native struck out four and allowed three hits in 4.1 innings before exiting after a one-out single in the fifth.
“Jack came out, gave us a great start,” Lyle said. “He came out and did Jack things. He slowed their offense down. He missed barrels. He worked quick.”
Lyle added: “I think he led by example tonight. He has good stuff, not great stuff, but the way he competes makes his stuff a lot better than it is. Hopefully some guys can see the way Jack competes day in and day out and learn from him this season.”
The Drifters outhit the Elks 10-to-9, but couldn’t capitalize with runners in scoring position, stranding 15 batters on base. “Everyone wanted to be a hero, and it's understandable. Everyone's new. They don't know each other, and they want to be the guy for their teammate instead of just passing the baton,” Lyle said. “Leaving 15 runners on base is terrible, but I like to flip that around and take some positives out of it. We had 15 runners on base to leave.”
The Drifters and Elks continue their three-game series Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with Kaden Harris getting the start for Springfield. The game will be streamed on the Bend Elks YouTube channel.