SPRINGFIELD – The Drifters didn’t complete the series sweep Sunday against the Marion Berries. Losing 7-6 in 10 innings, but they did earn another series victory. The week-ending series against the Berries marked the fifth straight series won by the Drifters over Marion, dating to last summer.
“It’s a tough loss when you go 10 innings and kind of leave it all on the table per se, but there’s some good things. We saw nine or 10 (pitchers) tonight and got a chance to look at some new kids,” Drifters pitching coach Dean Stiles said. “Now we’re going to bounce back and head for Yakima with our heads up and ready to go again.”
West Coast League teams experience a constant flow of players coming and going as their schedules allow each season. Players departing for their home schools becomes increasingly common toward the end of the summer league, requiring new faces to fill the old players’ roles.
As the 2026 season nears its end, the Drifters are keeping this in mind.
“A couple players are headed out now to get ready for their college seasons, then at the same time we’ve got some kids that are coming in,” Stiles said. “They’re really enthusiastic, and that’s kind of the nature of this league now. I think there’s going to be some transition, and it’s just about how fast you can get the new kids up to speed to fill those gaps.”
While there have been a large number of players to enter the Drifters’ facility at some point, none have been more prominent than Nolan Miller and Cooper Mullens.
Miller and Mullens – in their third and fourth seasons with the Drifters, respectively – have dominated in their time as Drifters, and that was no different Sunday night.
In the sixth inning, down 4-2 with no outs and one baserunner, Mullens singled to bring home Hunter Meyer. On the next at-bat, Miller hit a double, allowing Mullens to score, tying the game 4-4. The Drifters ended the inning with a 6-4 lead over the Berries.
“Whether it’s putting away laundry in the morning or hitting a double off the fence, you know they lead by example,,” Stiles said. “Their behavior is infectious, and their easygoing yet competitive attitudes trickle into the other players. It makes coaching so much easier because they’re basically running things out there. It’s their team.”
This season, Miller and Mullens lead the team in RBI by a wide margin, with the pair having 28 and 29, respectively; the next closest, Meyer, has 18.
While the season record isn’t either their main focus, it remains a friendly competition among long-time teammates.
“We’re just trying to win ball games, and let the rest take care of itself. It’s a little bit of just personal competition, but I’m not too worried about it,” Miller said. “If he gets it, he gets it. If he doesn’t, it’s cool. But yeah, it’ll be fun to go toe to toe and let us compete a little bit inside the game.”
“Coop’s great, man. He just works hard every day and just pushes everyone else around him to work hard,” Miller said. “It’s been great to just get closer to him and work with him out in the field and in the cages every day, and just pushes everyone to be better around him … myself included. He’s awesome.”
Springfield has three series remaining in this season. First, they travel to face the Yakima Valley Pippins from July 28-30 before returning home for their final six games. The Drifters host the Ridgefield Raptors from July 31-Aug. 2 and the Bend Elks from Aug. 3-5.
