History Rewritten as Drifters Defeat Pippins 11-4 to Win Sixth Consecutive Series
(Photo by Ella Poor)
By Dillon Zamperin
YAKIMA, Wash. — The red-hot Springfield Drifters (21-26, 18-20) came into Yakima County Stadium on Wednesday afternoon hoping to get past the Pippins (20-28, 18-21) in the standings, the series and the game. The Drifters left the ballpark on Wednesday night perfectly executing the plan by defeating the Pippins 11-4 to win the game and series, overtake Yakima Valley in the standings and accomplish it all, while rewriting history.
The win marks Springfield’s record-breaking sixth straight series win as the push for the playoffs continues with just seven games left. The victory also puts the 2026 Drifters just one win shy of tying its franchise record of 22 wins, set in 2023 and tied in 2025.
“It was nice to come in, take care of business [and] take care of the series,” Head Coach Jeff Lyle said. “Us scoring in the first takes a pressure off our starter. ”
However, perhaps the most impressive records broken or tied on Wednesday were done by the third-year Drifter Nolan Miller and the fourth-year Drifter Cooper Mullens. Miller, a junior outfielder from the University of Portland, recorded his 13th double of the season, breaking Jack Brooks’ record of 12 set last season in 2025.
“It’s always cool to break records and kind of fun that Jack’s the one that had it before,” Miller said. “It’s more important that we’re winning, though, and just putting some good swings on the ball and letting the rest take care of itself.”
Mullens, a redshirt junior second baseman from Michigan, meanwhile tied Springfield’s all-time RBI record of 31 originally set by Miller himself in 2025.
“It’s exciting. Nolan’s a great player,” Mullens said. “Just trying to stay with a non-wavering commitment to the ball.”
Both players have enjoyed standout seasons in Springfield once again as they continue to battle each other for the RBI record. In a back-and-forth race this year, Mullens reached the RBI record first, even with Miller on his heels with 30, including two RBIs on Wednesday.
Miller had a resurgent game after going hitless on Tuesday night by finishing Wednesday night with two hits, including his record-breaking double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Mullens also had two hits in the effort with two runs scored and the record-tying RBI.
“Just amazing. Earned. [Miller’s] an amazing baseball player and an even better person. He still goes up and looks to play team baseball first and have a great at-bat for his team,” Lyle said. “It’s amazing to see Cooper break records. It’s the castle that Coop built. Having the friendly competition between those two is only making it better for the rest of us. High tides raise all ships. It is really elevating the play of everybody else.”
Every Drifter starter recorded at least one hit by the fifth inning, even totaling 11 hits before an out was recorded in the fifth. The 11 hits in just 12 outs resulted in six of the 11 runs and the win for the Drifters. Across the fifth and sixth innings, Springfield additionally saw 18 batters step into the box in an absolute offensive outburst.
The scoring started quickly in the first inning following an RBI single from Evan Thomas. After redshirting his freshman season at UC Santa Barbara, Thomas has had a wonderful season with the Drifters and an even better night on Wednesday. He finished the game going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and one walk.
Mullens and Miller ignited a five-run fifth inning with Hunter Meyer and Chase Nye scoring in the process as well. Meyer, a sophomore outfielder from Cal State Fullerton, had one double and scored two runs as Nye scored one run and recorded one hit.
In the sixth inning, it was three other starters in the lineup that were involved in the scoring. A single from Lamar transfer LJ Layhew scored a run while a double from Rockhurst’s catcher Matthew Bolinger scored Layhew. Bolinger would come around to score two pitches later on a single from first baseman Colton Perez.
“You just want to do everything at a high level, so finishing out on a high level is huge for us and staying committed to the process,” Mullens said. “Stick with what we’ve been doing, stay on track and not fall off late.”
Layhew and Bolinger both ended the night with two hits, one RBI and one run scored each. Perez finished the game, going 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.
“It’s important to keep the line moving in any way we can get on. It’s obviously great to see. Get the next Drifter to the plate is the whole approach,” Lyle said. “Seeing these guys be successful at that and have that as part of their plan has been fun to watch.”
The effort on the mound was headed by Springfield’s starting pitcher, Griffin Scott. The redshirt sophomore left-hander from Oregon pitched five innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven Pippins and securing the win in a strong start.
Although he had a high pitch count of 86, Scott still managed to make it through five innings and limit the number of innings pitched by the bullpen amidst the second of a nine-game stretch.
“Watching Griffin Scott through the first five innings set the tone was great,” Lyle said. “Griffin went out and gave us a great start… filled up the zone and put up zeros.”
Kekama Robello, a redshirt sophomore right-hander from Bushnell, took over for Scott in the sixth inning for his first appearance as a Drifter. Robello threw one inning, striking out one and giving up no runs.
A quartet of Austin Vaughan, Trent Gordon, Evan Chan and Trey Thompson finished the remaining three innings, allowing a combined three runs. The appearances mark the second of the summer for the first three, respectively, and the seventh for Thompson.
“What is important is that we come out and we play with energy, we play with effort, we play for each other and we play team baseball,” Lyle said. “That’s the important part to us right now. That sets up a good recipe, and we’re just trying to stick with that.”
Springfield will go for their second sweep of the year on Thursday. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. The game can be streamed on the Pippins’ YouTube channel or on the WCL Live App for free.