Strong Hitting and AppleSox Errors Aid Drifters in 11-6 Win
Cooper Mullens celebrating with his teammates in the dugout during a game on June 7. (Photo by Isaac Abrego)
By Addison Cerezo
WENATCHEE, WA — Following their first homestand of the year, the Springfield Drifters (3-7, 1-5) started their six-game road trip on a high note, defeating the Wenatchee Apple Sox (6-3, 6-2) 11-6 thanks to multi-hit performances from five different Drifters and shutdown pitching from the back end of the bullpen.
The Drifters jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on three AppleSox errors en route to a six-run second inning. Jaycob Villalpando, Cooper Mullens, LJ Layhew, Mana Heffernan, and Peyton Tyner all had RBIs in the six-run inning, which was the highest-scoring inning of the year thus far for Springfield.
“That’s credit to the kids here,” Drifters Pitching Coach Dean Stiles said. “They played with their hair on fire. They’re running, they’re taking extra bases, feeling it out. We run, we bunt, we do those kinds of things and it puts pressure on teams because they’re not prepared for that.”
After a heads-up double play in the first inning in which he threw out a stray runner on a pop-up, Fresno City College’s junior infielder Jaycob Villalpando translated his defensive success to the offensive side. Villalpando ended his day 2-for-5 with a single, double, and 3 RBI.
Villalpando, Layhew, Heffernan, and Tyner all finished with multi-hit ballgames, along with Aiden Gebhard.
“We had a lot of guys put great swings on the ball,” Stiles said.
On the pitching side, the Drifters were led by transfer lefty Colton Perez, who completed four innings, allowing just one run and striking out two. Perez has had a whirlwind of a tenure so far for Springfield, hitting a huge home run in Saturday’s game before having a four-hit day on Sunday.
“He did a great job,” Stiles said. “He established the fastball, and then we got a little bit of a lead for him, so he was able to extend himself a little bit because he wasn’t afraid of contact and was certainly rewarded for that.
Today, Perez’s slider was the biggest out pitch for him, generating numerous whiffs with it.
“Slider is really effective,” Stiles said. “It helps his fastball because he’s able to go to it when he needs to make an adjustment. But when he throws the slider, he gets more extension, and that helps the fastball. So they both complement each other really well.”
The run allowed by Perez in the fourth inning opened the floodgates for Wenatchee, but not before insurance runs came across for the Drifters. It was Jaycob Villalpando once again, this time cranking a double to the left field corner that brought home two more runs to extend the lead.
The Drifters would be grateful for the two insurance runs, as a five-spot in the fifth for Wenatchee made the Villalpando double the difference, as the AppleSox brought the game within two.
Springfield would respond immediately to the five-run frame, with Aiden Gebhard smashing a two-run, two-out triple to double the lead. Gebhard had a banner day at the plate, with the triple being just one of two hits in his four at-bats, walking once, and stealing two bases.
“Just to get him on base is critical because of his speed,” Stiles said of Gebhard. The Northwest Nazarene product finished with two more steals on Tuesday, extending his WCL lead to 14, which leads the league by five. “For him to be able to come out and put some good swings on it was fantastic.”
Gebhard’s triple made the game 10-6, and it would stay that way in the later innings, largely thanks to Chemeketa’s righty Jack Klee, who worked two hitless innings, striking out three for his best outing as a Drifter.
The Drifters would extend the lead once again in the 8th inning, with Lane infielder Austin Takahashi bunting in Bushnell outfielder Brody Buhr.
“It was a big, big safety squeeze by Takahashi,” Stiles said. “That kind of opened it up for us, put the nail in it a little bit. To be able to execute is the key, and they were able to execute.”
A bullpen performance of transfer lefty Michael Klein would go a long way in keeping the score 11-6. Klein worked 2 ⅔ innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six. Klein has now pitched 11 ⅓ innings, striking out 19, and sports a minuscule 0.79 ERA.
LJ Layhew, the redshirt freshman catcher from Rice, finished 2-for-6 for his second multi-hit game as a Drifter. Layhew tacked on his third stolen base of the year, unusual for a catcher, but something that Layhew has added to his game nonetheless.
The Drifters play Game 2 of the series against Wenatchee on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with Aiden Gebhard picking up the start for Springfield. The game will be streamed on the West Coast League Streaming App.