SPRINGFIELD – Since the dawn of the Springfield Drifters’ new era, first-year-coach Jeff Lyle has made it clear the team does not emphasize winning games. This approach is designed to help players develop on the field without the added pressure of their job being on the line. Now, as the team sits on the edge of breaking the Drifters’ single-season win record, it’s clear the player-focused philosophy is paying dividends.
“It’s nice, it’s really good for the players. It’s all on them. It has nothing to do with us as coaches,” Lyle said. “But we haven’t talked about winning or losing all year long. We’ve talked about the process and having a chance to be in every game, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Staying in the game has been Springfield’s M.O. all season long. Whether it’s coming back from five runs down in one inning or trading runs with a team for the whole game, the Drifters are always going to battle.
For the team, it’s been about focusing on the game, not the scoreboard.
“We try not to let it affect the strategy. We try to let our guys play free,” Lyle said. “We give them the green light to run, but kind of do a lot of stuff on their own. We have a lot of suggestions, but we try to play the way we play regardless of if we’re up 10 or down 10.”
While the team has made a multitude of on-field improvements this year, one thing was never in question: their incredible team chemistry.
With many players away from their home and families, the team has spent more time around each other than anybody else. Playing six games a week, away from home on a travel baseball team is not an easy thing to do, but it’s an experience the players embraced from day one.
“These guys became family as quick or quicker than any squad I’ve ever been around. We talked about culture, and we talked about the way we wanted things to be when we came in. And this group has nailed it,” Lyle said. “The guys have bought in, and I don’t even like to use the term bought in because we’re not selling anything to them.”
The added level of support from each other has allowed the players to shine on the field. While the support from the coaches is expected, the guidance from fellow players has helped this soon-to-be record setting team reach new heights.
“We have guys like Nick Jamito, who came from Cal Poly. He’s had a rough start physically, but I mean, that guy’s mental game, his ability to bounce back and and get to the next pitch is kind of the epitome of what being a Drifter is, and what we want being a Drifter to be about, and that’s rubbed off on a lot of other guys,” Lyle said.
The Springfield Drifters sit at 21-24 with nine games remaining in the 2025 season. The team needs one win to tie, and two to break their record of 22 wins which was set in 2023.
Springfield’s final home series begins on Friday, Aug. 1 against the Corvallis Knights.