Summer Sports Zone July 2

Drifters Layhew on road to recovery;
Angler’s Log: Drought causing issues

Top Stories, Recaps & More

By Steve Mims FOR THE CHRONICLE

Peaks and valleys, mountains and rivers: Texas native Layhew among Owls flocking to Springfield Drifters

SPRINGFIELD – When J.J. Altobelli recommended LJ Layhew spend his summer in Springfield, the Rice catcher searched a map. “The first thing I had to do was look up where…

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By Chronicle News Service

Drifters finish first half of WCL season; team returns after six-game road trip

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…

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By FRANK ARMENDARIZ for The Chronicle

Good news and grim realities

On June 26, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Commission convened in Redmond to address a range of fisheries and wildlife-related topics. The outlook from the meeting was largely…

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In Case You Missed It

Stavros is a Beacon for ‘youngsters’ on the team

SPRINGFIELD – Age is a relative term in the Springfield Drifters’ dugout.
As Blake Stavros spends his fourth and final summer as one of the elder statesmen with the team, he has earned a new nickname.

“I got a couple guys who keep calling me ‘Unc’ making fun of me,” Stavros said, citing the word kids use these days to call someone old. “It is funny, coach Lyle was making a group chat asking about our birthdays and I saw 2007 and I was born in 2003, so that did make me feel old. I remember when I came to play here when I was younger and I thought those guys were old. Now I’m the old guy here, so it is pretty funny. I don’t feel old yet, I am only 22, but when you play with 17- and 18- year olds, they think you are super old.”

Yet Stavros has turned the “Unc” label around on pitching coach Dean Stiles.

“Deano is great, it is super cool to pick his brain,” Stavros said. “He’s a super old guy who has been around the game for a long time with different programs at different levels and now he’s here bringing that knowledge to all these college guys. I talk to him about baseball and other stuff, so it is good to see what he has to say.”

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