Pippins Back in the Win Column After Busy Night at the Plate

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WCL Yakima Valley Pippins

Pippins Back in the Win Column After Busy Night at the Plate

June 13, 2025 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release


RIDGEFIELD, Washington - It was a night filled with offense Thursday, and the Yakima Valley Pippins found themselves on the right side of a 14-11 win over the Ridgefield Raptors. A total of 25 runs were scored in the nearly 3 1/2-hour contest. The two teams also combined for 29 hits, and 21 combined runners were left on base.

The Pippins solidified their victory with insurance runs in the seventh inning. Leading 11-10 and facing Ridgefield's sidewinding right-handed pitcher Declan Francis, James Lawrence led off the frame with a single. After two groundouts that advanced Lawrence to third base, Cole Hansen would poke a single through the right side of the infield to make the score 12-10. Neil Jansen would be next to the plate, and he would serve a single into center field that would go under the glove Ridgefield's Christian Hoffman, and roll all the way to the warning track. Hansen would score easily from first, and Jansen turned a routine single into a Little League style home run to make the score 14-10.

Colton LaFave entered in the bottom of the eighth and was the fifth and final arm used by the Pippins. With a three-run lead, LaFave would set down Ridgefield 1-2-3 in the eighth inning, and would get some help from his defense in the ninth. With a runner at first, Noah Karliner grounded a ball right at Kyler Bittner, who stepped on his bag and tossed over the Brett Haggerty at first for the first two outs of the inning. LaFave would end the game on his terms, striking out Richard Tejada.

The Pippins struck first in the opening frame and never relinquished the lead, despite Ridgefield's best efforts. Charlie Schebler, Bittner, and Jansen were walked by Raptor starting pitcher Connor Cox, and all three runners would score. Schebler came across the plate on a bases-loaded walk by Max Senesac, which would force Cox out of the game. Against the new arm, Dawson Downs, Preston Allen would hit an RBI single, and Haggerty would ground into a fielder's choice, allowing Bittner and Jansen to score, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.

The Pippins would allow two runs in the bottom of the first, but respond immediately. In the top of the second, Lawrence barrelled a ball over the right-field wall for his first home run of the season. Then with one out, Bittner would single against Downs, and come around to score on a Jansen two-out, RBI single, making the score 5-2.

After hanging a zero in the bottom, the Pippins would get right back to work again in the top of the third, plating two more runs. Ethan Buckley would ground out to second base, scoring Allen, who singled earlier in the inning. Haggerty, who doubled earlier in the inning, would score on an RBI single by Schebler, making the score 7-2.

In the bottom of the third inning, Ridefield had enough, and would push four runs across, started by a solo home run by Noah Karliner, one of the West Coast League's leaders in hits and batting average. Pippins starter Ian Mowad would then allow four straight hits to the bottom of the Raptors order. Mowad would exit following a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, and Cade Cushing would retire Taylor Takata to get out of the inning. After three innings, the score was 7-6 Pippins.

The two teams would trade blows in the fourth inning, both squads scoring three runs. The Pippins cashed in two leadoff walks and Allen, who reached on a fielders choice. The Raptors did all their damage with two outs against Cushing, plating two free passes on three hits in the inning. The ninth man in the inning, Takata, would face another new arm for Yakima Valley, Jordan Rodarte, who would induce a groundout to get out of the inning with the lead, 10-9.

After a quiet fifth inning, the scoring would resume in the sixth. Yakima Valley brought Jansen around to score after two errors by Ridgefield on a pickoff attempt. The throw sailed wide of the second base bag, and then under the glove of Hoffman in center field. The Raptors got the run right back thanks to Jackson Waller's second sacrifice fly of the night to score Angelo Aleman from third.

After Yakima Valley finished in the seventh, the Raptors would get a run back to make it a three run game. Karliner would hit his second solo home run of the night to the opposite field, and make the score 14-11.

With the win, Yakima Valley improves to 4-8 on the season. The Pippins are back in action Friday at home for the first of a three-game, non-league series against the Northwest Star Academy Nighthawks. It will be a busy weekend at The Orchard, kicked off by Scott T.'s Spooktacular Halloween in June on Friday the 13th. The weekend will also feature a special 1:05pm first pitch on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day. Dads will get in free with a paying child on their special day.

Tickets for the weekend can be purchased at www.pippinsbaseball.com/tickets, the only official ticketing link for the Yakima Valley Pippins. Parking is free at Yakima County Stadium.



West Coast League Stories from June 13, 2025


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