Springfield Smokes Bend for Series Win
(Photo by Isaac Abrego)
By Dillon Zamperin
SPRINGFIELD — In a hazy, smoky Tuesday night game against the Bend Elks (19-34, 18-25), the Springfield Drifters (24-29, 21-23) pitching and hitters overpowered the Elks en route to a 7-3 win and the Drifters’ eighth series win in their last 10.
The Drifters added another victory to their already growing franchise record of 24 wins, with one game to go on Wednesday night despite the harsh conditions.
“Coming out with a win is great. We’ve talked about energy and effort; it was up and down today, as was the scoring,” Head Coach Jeff Lyle said. “But always happy when we win.”
Similar to Monday night’s win, the Drifters put up at least four runs in the first inning. The effort started with graduate outfielder/left handed pitcher Aiden Gebhard getting hit by a pitch and proceeding to add to his franchise record in steals with two in the inning. After Tuesday’s game, Gebhard is up to 34 steals on the year.
Gebhard would come around to score on a balk for the first run of the game and finished the night going 1-for-2 with a single, two runs scored, two walks and three stolen bases.
“It’s great, and with what he’s got going, we've got to give him the freedom to run. It’s nice seeing him at the top of the lineup,” Lyle said.
The third batter of the game, Hunter Meyer, got hit by a pitch as well and came around to score on an RBI single from Cooper Mullens. Meyer, a sophomore outfielder with Cal State Fullerton, has been exceptional at the plate and in the outfield, which continued into Tuesday’s game, scoring once and driving in one run.
Mullens, the fourth-year Drifter and redshirt junior second baseman from Michigan, continues his more-than-excellent season at the plate, recording two singles, two walks, an RBI and scoring one run in an all-around offensive game. Mullens continues to cushion his all-time leads in hits, walks, RBIs and games played with Springfield.
“He is the face of our organization. He’s been here longer than all of us, probably combined. It’s crazy,” Lyle said. “His work ethic, his personality, the way he carries himself on and off the field; the game takes care of guys like that, and the game knows. We’re real proud of Cooper.”
After struggling in the series against the Ridgefield Raptors, Chase Nye has made an excellent return to the plate against the Elks this series. The senior shortstop from Bushnell reached base four times in Monday’s win and followed it up by getting on base three times on Tuesday. He also had an RBI and scored one run in the win.
Following a four-spot in the first, Gebhard once again reached base and wound up scoring on a sacrifice fly from Meyer for the fifth run of the game during the second inning.
The Drifters would not see another run come across the board until the sixth inning when Springfield loaded the bases. Zach Story walked on four straight pitches, bringing in an insurance run. The junior infielder from UC Davis walked once and recorded two RBIs in the win.
Springfield would add to the lead one more time in the seventh after Evan Thomas reached on an error by the pitcher, scoring Nick Gimino. Thomas, the reigning WCL Player of the Week from UC Santa Barbara, walked once and scored one run, as he looks to finish the season strong. The latter of the two was the Drifter of the Game last night and followed it up with a single, a stolen base and one run scored.
Redshirt sophomore Griffin Scott, a left-hander from Oregon, continued his hot streak from the mound, earning Drifter of the Game honors on Tuesday. In six strong innings, he allowed three runs — only one earned — on six hits while striking out four Elks and throwing just 67 pitches.
“I was attacking the strike zone early and often,” Scott said. “I’m glad I got out and pitched in front of some bigger crowds and some better players.”
Scott ran into some trouble during his last inning, allowing two of his three runs. Against his final batter, he induced an easy fly ball to Gebhard to escape the inning and strand two runners. He capped off a great summer for the Drifters with the win and will head to Eugene to play for the Ducks for his first season at Oregon in the spring after one season at Lane Community College.
“He’s as good as there is in the league. He’s got an electrically fast left arm. His ability to pound with multiple pitches [and] he had a really good breaking ball tonight,” Lyle said. “When he’s in the zone, or at least competitively around the zone, the scoreboard is going to fall in his favor a lot.”
Kekama Robello relieved Scott, recording his third appearance of the summer. The redshirt sophomore right-hander from Bushnell pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out the side on 15 pitches.
Owen Cheyne took the final two frames and kept Bend’s bats at bay. The junior left-hander recently committed to Bushnell and will continue to play at Hamlin Sports Complex next spring. On Tuesday night, he finished his summer with three strikeouts, allowing no runs on 41 pitches.
The Drifters will go for the sweep against the Elks in an attempt to earn their second sweep of the year. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
“The only thing that we can control is our energy and effort. If we have good energy and effort tomorrow, we have a great chance for a sweep,” Lyle said.
Join us on Wednesday night for our last game of the season and celebrate you, the fans, for Fan Appreciation Night! Enjoy half-off tickets, concessions and select merchandise all game long. Tickets are available online at driftersbaseball.com.
The final game of the year will be streamed on the Springfield Drifters’ YouTube Channel or on the WCL Live App for free.