Drifters' Culture Stays Strong in 10-Run Loss to Portland

(Photo by Alyssa Garcia)

By Henry Light

SPRINGFIELD – Seven innings removed from their last run in a 12-2 loss to the Portland Pickles, the Drifters displayed a tight culture worthy of the label “bigger than baseball.”

Down by five in the eighth inning, University of Portland commit Drew Holman pinch-hit for future teammate and Drifters veteran Nolan Miller. A catcher on a ten-day contract pinch-hitting for a first baseman may have raised eyebrows, but it happened for the same reason Holman stuck with the Drifters for more than ten days.

“Drew was one of our guys — he was our dog,” Drifters head coach Jeff Lyle said. “He was on a ten-day, but he earned some more time.”

It was Miller’s idea for Holman to get an at-bat in his last game with the Drifters this summer, and he made a simple case to Lyle, saying he had never given away an at-bat in his life, but that Holman should take his. Holman’s strong work ethic and popularity in the clubhouse earned him that level of respect before his collegiate debut.

“Those are the moments that we do this for,” Lyle said. “12-2, whatever it was, those things erase the sour taste of getting our butts kicked on the field, and we know that our culture and what we’re creating are bigger than baseball.”

On the field, the decisive game in the series was one to forget for the Drifters (5-13, 2-7), with Cooper Mullens’ first-inning home run giving way to Pickles (9-9, 5-4) domination in all aspects. 

“I think yesterday maybe gave us a false sense of security that we could come out and get something started, but we hung around, we waited and we just never got anything started,” Lyle said.

The Drifters’ highest-profile pitching reinforcement, Oregon redshirt junior Cooper Strawn, escaped a bases-loaded jam in his first inning in Springfield, striking out three straight batters, with the middle strikeout pitch getting away.

Mullens gave the Drifters an early lead in the bottom of the inning with an opposite-field two-run homer, his first of the Summer. 

“It’s exactly what he’s been doing his whole time here — putting good swings on the ball, having good at-bats, and living pitch-to-pitch, and he put a good swing on it,” Lyle said. “We got some home run props before the game, and everyone was calling Coop to get one today, so those are the positive things.”

Kai Mault answered back with a solo home run in the top of the second, and the Pickles took a 3-2 lead in the third after Sonny Pena came out of the Drifters’ bullpen with the bases loaded and no outs.

After Pena worked a scoreless inning aided by Evan Thomas’ sliding catch in center field, Portland tacked on an insurance run in the fourth when Luis Castillo reached with a double and came in on a groundout.

Mullens’ full-count single provided a sign of life from the Drifters’ lineup in the sixth, but he was caught stealing to end the inning. 

In the top of the seventh, Luis Castillo landed a firm blow on the Drifters’ comeback chances, crushing a two-run no-doubter to left field that froze Springfield’s outfielders. Portland tacked on another run in the inning on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice.

The Drifters’ lineup improved as desperation kicked in, with Johnny Elliott and LJ Layhew reaching via an error and a walk and advancing into scoring position. Still, Portland threw Elliott out at home for the second out and kept the five-run lead intact.

“It’s really complex right now, really working the process and trying to stay away from the results,” Lyle said. “We get into those moments where we know that a hit or something productive would be big, and we press.”

After the Drifters stranded another two baserunners in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Pickles added another five runs by way of a Masa Chilcutt RBI single and a grand slam by Castillo.

Despite the loss, the Drifters can hang their hats on the strong sense of culture required to move on from a 10-run defeat.

The Drifters will hit the road for three-game sets in Walla Walla and Ridgefield before returning home on June 30 for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch against the Marion Berries. The Drifters’ road games will be streamed on the WCL Live App.