SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Drifters continued their busy summer schedule last week, going 3-3 with two non-league wins. The Drifters went into the midseason break 12-15, and after a series against Corvallis, Springfield has six-striaght games against the last-place team in the South Division, the Walla Walla Sweets.
First up last week was a series against the Cowlitz Black Bears from Monday-Wed. The Drifters took the Fourth of July game 4-2, but lost Game One 8-0 and Game Three 1-0. Ryan Cooney and Bobby Blandford each had an RBI in the 4th inning of the win to help the Drifters grab one on the road.
Instead of taking time off during the six-day midseason break, the Drifters scheduled two non-league games against the Northwest Stars, an academy baseball team in Ridgefield. Springfield won Game One 2-1 behind the pitching of Kaden Alberghini before dominating Game Two 13-1.
“The fastball was working, I could spot it from the corners and keep it low,” Alberghini, a Seattle University player, said in an interview on the Drifters social media after the game.
Coming up is a key stretch for the Drifters if they hope to sneak into the postseason. At 12-15, Springfield is 1.5 games back of the fourth-place team in the South Division, the Cowlitz Black Bears. The top four teams in each division make the postseason.
After a home-away-home series against Corvallis (18-12), the Drifters have three away games followed by three home games against the Walla Walla Sweets (10-20). The six games against the Sweets are key for the Drifters to find momentum moving forward in the back half of the season.
Results/Schedule
Monday, July 3
Cowlitz 8, Springfield 0
Tuesday, July 4
Springfield 4, Cowlitz 2
Wednesday, July 5
Cowlitz 1, Springfield 0
Thursday, July 6
Springfield 2, Northwest 1
Friday, July 7
Springfield 13, Northwest 1
Monday, July 10
Springfield 11, Cascade 1
Thursday, July 13
Corvallis Knights at Springfield Drifters, 6:35 p.m.
Friday, July 14
Springfield Drifters at Walla Walla Sweets, 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, July 15
Springfield Drifters at Walla Walla Sweets, 6:35 p.m.
Sunday, July 16
Springfield Drifters at Walla Walla Sweets, 6:05 p.m.
Tuesday, July 18
Walla Walla Sweets at Springfield Drifters, 6:35 p.m.
Wednesday, July 19
Walla Walla Sweets at Springfield Drifters, 6:35 p.m.
Thursday, July 20
Walla Walla Sweets at Springfield Drifters, 6:35 p.m.
Linescores
Monday, July 3
Cowlitz 8, Springfield 0
At Story Field
Springfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 2 0
Cowlitz 0 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 x – 8 6 1
WP-C. Gaston. LP-S. Brinkley
Springfield: Team LOB-6.
Cowlitz: 2B-L. McCollum, E. Mann, G. Jay. 3B-I. Riley. HBP-E. Kennel, B. Larson, C. Tallakson. RBI-L. McCollum, E. Mann (2), G. Jay (2), C. Brown. SB-L. McCollum (4), E. Mann (2). Team LOB-7.
Tuesday, July 4
Springfield 4, Cowlitz 2
Springfield 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 – 4 8 0
Cowlitz 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 – 2 11 0
WP-J. Over LP-L. Wechsberg
Springfield: 2B-R. Cooney. 3B-B. Blandford. HBP-B. Blandford, C. Updegrave. RBI-R. Cooney, B. Blandford, R. Hays, T. Meluskey. SB-B. Newton, T. Meluskey. Team LOB-10.
Cowlitz: 2B-L. McCollum, E. Mann. HP-E. Mann, C. Monda, E. Lopez. RBI-L. McCollum, I. Riley. SB-A. Singer, E. Mann, I. Riley. Team LOB-11.
Wednesday, July 5
Cowlitz 1, Springfield 0
Springfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 4 0
Cowlitz 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 x – 1 8 0
WP-K. Francis LP-R. Haider
Springfield: SB-C. Calnon. Team LOB-4.
Cowlitz: 2B-E. Mann. RBI-E. Mann. SB-L. McCollum, E. Mann (2). Team LOB-7.
