DRIFTERS RECAPS
TUESDAY
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Drifters’ offense could muster only four hits and one unearned run through seven innings last Tuesday. But after right-hander Sonny Pena struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh, everything changed for the Drifters’ offense. The once-struggling Springfield offense exploded for three runs in the eighth and one run in the ninth for a comeback 5-3 victory over the Sweets in the series opener at Borleske Stadium. “Sonny came out, and you could just tell in his warm-up pitches that he was getting closer to being Sonny Pena. And he went out and was just straight up electric in the seventh,” Drifters head coach Jeff Lyle said. “And the guys came in, and I could just hear them talking like, ‘Hey, let’s get the lead right here.’ Like, that’s all they wanted to do was get us a lead and let Sonny and Michael (Klein) finish it from there, because the way Sonny was throwing, he was unstoppable.” Pena, who is still a little banged up after an early-season injury, set down the first five batters he faced and allowed only one hit in two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. “Right now, I’m kind of just not overthinking it. I’m just leaving everything out there,” Pena said. “I was just locked in.”
WEDNESDAY
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Drifters fell to the Sweets in a 4-3 nailbiter at Borleske Stadium. Strong pitching performances from both staffs made the game a toss-up all the way until the eighth inning. The scoring opened in the second inning, with the Sweets getting two hits before a sacrifice fly brought the first run of the game in. Mount Marty right-hander Kaden Harris was able to settle into the inning, retiring the next two hitters to avoid a crooked number. Harris, whose day ended after five innings, allowed two runs while striking out five. He looked sharp all the way through, utilizing his pitches efficiently to get outs. “Takes a bit of pressure off the bullpen,” Lyle said. “We had a chance to win. We made a couple of mistakes,” he said. “We didn’t handle the ball in a crucial moment. Other than that, it was a pretty clean game.”
THURSDAY
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Drifters rallied from an early seven-run deficit in the rubber match in Walla Walla, but Springfield’s pitching staff couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain, sealing a 16-8 loss. Colton Perez and Evan Thomas each went deep in the Drifters’ explosive pursuit of Walla Walla’s quick start, but the Sweets overwhelmed Springfield on the other side of the ball, running away with the game as soon as their early lead was caught. The Drifters fell into a 5-0 hole in the first inning thanks to a solo home run by Walla Walla’s Gage Reeser and a grand slam by Isaac Torres. Perez provided a Drifters response in the top of the second, jumping on an up-and-in fastball for his second home run of the season, a solo shot. The Sweets added another two runs in the bottom of the inning when Blake Stavros inherited runners on first and second with no outs, and allowed runs on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly as he navigated the traffic.
FRIDAY
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. – Nolan Miller’s first West Coast League home run in his third summer with the Drifters headlined an otherwise forgettable night in a 15-5 loss to Ridgefield. While the pitching staff remains in need of outs, the lineup continues putting up numbers that could be competitive should it find them. “Offensively, we had some good swings. We hit some balls hard. Nolan Miller was phenomenal at the plate, Kahaku Harrison came around and had some really good swings today. We saw some positive things on the offensive side, but just too many free bases to overcome,” Lyle said. Miller gave the Drifters a first-inning lead, turning on a first-pitch inside fastball for a two-run homer thanks to a Hunter Meyer walk with two outs that extended the inning. Miller keyed another Drifters run in the third inning, taking a low breaking ball the opposite way to put runners on second and third. That allowed Malosi Mata’afa Alferos to tie the game with a groundout. Ridgefield catcher Braden Watson took back the lead in the bottom of the inning, hitting a curveball from Cade Shumard off the scoreboard in left field for a three-run homer to put the Raptors ahead 6-3. Hawai’i Pacific right-hander Tristan Jennings couldn’t stop the Raptors’ onslaught after taking over for Shumard, with Ridgefield taking a 10-3 lead on a single and a three-run home run.
SUNDAY (DH)
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — A rainout postponed the second game of the series on Saturday, setting up a doubleheader between the Drifters and the Raptors. The first game, which saw the Raptors win 3-0 and take the series, was followed by a slightly more eventful second game, in which Ridgefield won 3-1 to complete the sweep of the doubleheader and the series. As Sunday’s second game officially wrapped up the first half of the WCL season, the Raptors and Drifters found themselves on opposite sides of the standings. While Ridgefield secured the WCL South first-half title earlier this week and clinched its spot in the postseason, the Drifters have the worst record in the South and will look to turn it around during the second half of the WCL season. “We threw the ball really, really well on the mound. When we got in jams, our pitchers got better, and that’s what we ask out of them,” Lyle said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively. We hung around, but were never able to establish anything offensively.” The Drifters were swept on the road for the second time this season with the two-run loss in Game 2. “We tip our hats to the (Ridgefield) pitching staff. They threw us really well all day,” Lyle said. “We just move on to Tuesday.”
