Springfield Stays Hot with 15-5 Win vs Pippins

(Photo by Isaac Abrego)

By Henry Light

YAKIMA – The Drifters’ series opener in Yakima looked like a two-way shootout in the early innings, but Springfield plated five runs in the third and broke away for a 15-5 win at Yakima County Stadium.

Amid a sustained hot streak in which the team has won five straight series, Springfield’s (20-26, 17-20) offense put together one of its most complete performances of the season while Carlo Ramirez and Ezra James kept the Pippins (20-27, 18-20) at bay on the mound. Evan Thomas (2-for-4, 2 BB, 4 RBI) and Cooper Mullens (3-for-5, RBI, 2 R) helped fuel the hot start and carried that form throughout the game.

“All we talked about was trying to win each inning tonight, and being able to go out and score runs and have a lot of traffic and getting guys on base was exactly what we needed,” Drifters head coach Jeff Lyle said.

Both offenses started the game strong, with each team plating three runs across the first two innings, before the Drifters pulled away with five in the third.

Thomas contributed to the Drifters’ rapid start the most with a two-run single in the first inning and an RBI triple in the third. Chase Nye added a walk and a single from the leadoff spot, Mullens did the same and Hunter Meyer stayed hot with an RBI single in the second.

“It's been a tough day for us. Travel day. This isn't an easy place to play — It's just something about the atmosphere here, the field, everything — It's never been easy to play, so coming out and putting up some runs early and then winning innings was huge,” Lyle said.

Ramirez limited damage early with consecutive strikeouts and a pop out to strand a runner in scoring position in the first inning and a 1-2-3 third to preserve the 8-3 lead. Drifters catcher Preston Armstrong also stepped up in the second inning, throwing out a runner stealing third to move to 6-for-11 on throwdowns this season.

“(Preston) is a beast. He's got a great arm; he has a quick release,
him and coach Stiles do a good job of calling a game and working the running game,” Lyle said. “The pitchers are doing a good job of giving him a chance, and if they do a good job getting the ball to the plate efficiently, Preston’s definitely got a chance to throw you out.”

Springfield tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning via a bases-loaded walk by Nye and a sacrifice fly by Meyer.

By the time Ramirez left the game in the fourth inning, he had raised his season-high pitch count from 47 to 90.

“We have eight games left with no breaks, so those guys being able to eat up the complete game with just the two of them was huge for us,” Lyle said.

Springfield pushed its lead back to seven runs in a one-error, four-walk fifth inning. Kahaku Harrison and Elliott Brown started the spiral with eight-pitch and six-pitch walks, adding to an earlier single for the former and a walk for the latter.

Mullens collected his third hit of the night in the eighth inning with a double in the left-center field gap. Armstrong then pushed the Drifters’ lead to 13-5 with his second hit, a single up the middle.

“(Cooper) has no heartbeat. He comes out, and he sticks to his approach as well as anybody that I've ever coached, and he swings at good pitches, he puts good barrel on the ball, and he's never trying to do too much — just whatever the team needs,” Lyle said.

The Drifters tacked on two more runs in the ninth on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but the real story of the later innings was James’ dominance across five scoreless innings. Like Ramirez, James had primarily played a typical relief role before stretching out his pitch count, and in an efficient 75 pitches, he struck out five batters while holding Yakima to just two hits and two walks.

“Ezra coming in and doing what he did, putting up five zeros, was just lights out, and that's exactly what our bullpen needed,” Lyle said.

While the Drifters gained ground in the playoff race, Aiden Gebhard moved into the league lead in stolen bases with two steals, bringing him to 26 on the season. He did so while going 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored.

“Speed never slumps. His ability and his willingness now to play small ball and just know that if he gets on base, it's very easily a double and possibly a triple is huge,” Lyle said. 


The Drifters will go for the series on July 29, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. The game can be streamed on the Pippins’ YouTube channel or on the WCL Live app for free.