Ninth Inning Dramatics Fall Short for Yakima Valley
August 6, 2025 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
YAKIMA, Washington - The Yakima Valley Pippins staged a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Ridgefield Raptors, but it fell a run short, falling 6-5 on Tuesday night. Yakima Valley got a pitching gem of its own, as reliever Austin Murphy twirled six innings, allowing only one run in his final outing of the season.
Trailing 6-3 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Garren Gooler and Zech Samayoa pieced together a single and a double to put two runners in scoring position. Jack Varney was unable to bring home either runner with a shallow flyout to center field, but Nolan Rowe came up big with his second RBI single of the night, scoring both Gooler and Samayoa, bringing the winning run to the plate. Sam Moore walked after the single, putting Rowe, the tying run, in scoring position. Ethan Hogan hit next, chopping a slow roller to second base that was fielded by Taylor Takata, throwing Hogan out by a step to end the game, 6-5.
Murphy entered the game in the top of the fourth innig and allowed a solo home run to Cooper Whitton on the first pitch of his outing, extending the Raptors' lead to 6-1. Ridgefield's scoring stopped there, though, and Murphy allowed only six more hits through his next six innings. The Raptors went down in order in the top of the seventh and ninth innings, and Murphy stranded the bases loaded in the top of the eighth to preserve the three-run deficit for the Pippins.
Samayoa chipped in four hits in the losing effort, singling in the third inning before picking up doubles in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings. Samayoa scored twice on Nolan Rowe hits, building on a three-hit outing on Sunday against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
Raptors' starter Connor Cox earns the win, throwing the first five innings, allowing three runs on seven Pippins hits. Jake Geiss earns the save, his first of the season. Yakima Valley starter Quinn Stewart suffers the loss, falling to 0-2 after allowing five runs in the first two frames.
The Raptors are now 24-29 this summer and 12-14 in the second half of the season, riding a five-game winning streak. Yakima Valley suffers its fifth loss in a row, falling to 6-20 in the second half and 13-40 this season.
The Pipps and Raptors will square off for one final game in the 2025 season on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m, with postgame fireworks to follow, as part of Fan Appreciation Night. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a Scott T. Pippin bobblehead, courtesy of the Valley Mall. Tickets can be purchased at www.pippinsbaseball.com/tickets, the only official ticketing link for the Yakima Valley Pippins.
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