TUESDAY, JUNE 9
WENATCHEE, Wash. – After the first homestand of the year, the Springfield Drifters started their six-game road trip on a high note, defeating the Wenatchee Apple Sox 11-6 thanks to multi-hit performances from five different Drifters and shutdown pitching from the back end of the bullpen. The Drifters took 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 RBI 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.” The Drifters were led by transfer lefty pitcher Colton Perez, who completed four innings, allowing one run and striking out two. Earlier in the week, Perez hit a home run in Saturday’s game and had a four-hit day Sunday.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10
WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Drifters struggled to keep up with the AppleSox’s offense, falling to Wenatchee 11-1. Graduate left-hander Aiden Gebhard started the game but failed to record an out in the fourth inning, allowing five runs on four hits on 57 pitches. In his longest outing in over a year, the Northwest Nazarene two-way player struggled with the long ball, allowing two home runs in the fourth inning, which ultimately took him out of the game. Applesox’s designated hitter Nikko Paoletto and left fielder Kainoa Santiago did the home run damage, scoring three of the five runs Gebhard allowed. Redshirt junior Austin Takahashi, who last pitched on April 20, 2025, with Lane Community College, found his way back to the mound in Wednesday’s loss, pitching the bottom of the eighth after a pinch-hit strikeout in the top half of the inning. Despite not recording a hit, junior designated hitter Colton Perez remained a threat at the plate, walking twice in three plate appearances. The two-way player, who is awaiting his next team while in the transfer portal, is now up to five walks on the year and his first since Saturday.
THURSDAY
WENATCHEE, Wash. – With hopes of securing their first series victory of the summer, Springfield came out of the gate on fire against the AppleSox as the first four batters reached base, scoring the first run of the game. However, the Drifters would not score again until it was too late, with two outs in the ninth inning. The AppleSox, meanwhile, sprinkled runs across three innings, which proved enough, and defeated the Drifters 5-2, winning the series 2-1. Springfield has dropped their fourth straight series to start the year as their winning percentage fell to .250. “Today’s a tough game because we spoiled a pretty good pitching outing by Ledbetter,” Stiles said. “Left a lot of guys on base and obviously if you do that, you’re going to struggle a little bit.” Tristan Ledbetter pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. The junior from Umpqua Community College was very efficient, throwing 70 pitches before running into trouble in the sixth inning, where he allowed two of his three runs.
FRIDAY
VICTORIA, B.C. – Struggling to score in the final two games in Wenatchee, the Drifters offense was looking for a fresh start in Canada on Friday. After three combined runs in the past two games in central Washington, the Drifters’ offense exploded in Victoria, scoring 18 runs and recording 15 hits in an 18-9 series-opening victory against the HarbourCats at Royal Athletic Park. “The offense started strong. And obviously that makes a big difference because it set the tone for the night,” Stiles said. “I liked the aggressiveness on the base paths, the stealing, the fake stealing. I think we’re ahead of the game there, so to speak.” Springfield took a 5-2 lead after two innings, scoring more runs in those two frames than the previous two games combined. Victoria, however, would answer with one run in the third and two runs in the fifth to tie it. The score would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Drifters scored four runs on two hits and three Victoria errors. Rice catcher LJ Layhew hit a grand slam in the top of the eighth, his first home run of the season, in a five-run eighth inning to stretch the lead to nine. Cooper Mullens, Peyton Tyner, and Broderick Buhr each recorded three hits, with 11 different Drifters reaching base safely in the nine-run victory.
SATURDAY
VICTORIA, B.C. – The Drifters saw a two-run lead evaporate late as the HarbourCats scored two runs in the ninth and one run in the 10th inning to walk off the Drifters 7-6 and even the series 1-1 at Royal Athletic Park. “It was a difficult game to lose.” Stiles said. “It was kind of ours to lose, and despite not playing particularly well, we were still in that game.” In a game with three ties and five lead changes, the Drifters found themselves leading 6-4 with two strikes and two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, but a two-RBI single by Victoria’s Declan Brown tied the score at six. Springfield struck out three times in the 10th, and Victoria’s Matthew Westley hit a walk-off single on a blooper to right to give the Drifters their third extra-inning loss and fifth one-run loss of the season.
SUNDAY
VICTORIA, B.C. – Wrapping up a six-game road trip on Sunday in Canada, the Springfield (4-11, 1-5) struggled offensively in the series finale, losing 9-1 in a wire-to-wire loss to the Victoria HarbourCats (7-8, 4-5). With the loss on Sunday, the Drifters have dropped their fifth straight series to begin the summer. “We played like we felt tired,” Stiles said. “I’m not sure that we competed at the level that we had previously during the trip. But again, learning experiences about how to be ready.” The Drifters were hitless through the first four innings and finished with only four hits. “We didn’t adjust with two strikes very well,” Stiles said. “Our swings were too long, too big.” Half of the Drifters’ hits came from Brody Buhr, who finished 2-for-4 and picked up his fourth double of the season. The sophomore outfielder from Bushnell, who originally signed a 10-day contract with the Drifters, is hitting .353 with four doubles and a home run across 13 appearances this season.
