Pippins Drop Eighth Straight Away from the Orchard
July 7, 2024 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
BEND, Oregon - A night after dominating the offense for a win, the Bend Elks turned to their pitching staff to get the job done Saturday, securing the series victory with a 10-2 win over the Yakima Valley Pippins.
It was the eighth straight road loss for Yakima Valley.
Three pitchers appeared for Bend in this game, and they combined for 13 punchouts. Jackson Elder got the start and completed seven full innings. He punched out eight Pippins, which was the highest total of any game this season for the senior. The Utah pitcher also did not allow a single walk in this appearance.
He was eventually replaced by future Michigan Wolverine Brandon Newland. The 6-foot-6 incoming freshman went for one inning and allowed no runs with two strikeouts. The final pitcher for the Elks was Xavier Richards. He finished out the top of the ninth inning and got three punchouts of his own.
Offensively, Bend put together a six run first inning to take an early lead they never relinquished. Luke Reece, Brian Duroff, Kaleb Karpstein, Jace Miller, Alejandro Cazorla and Vinny Salvione all came across. Miller's 2-RBI single and Isaiah Burke's RBI single highlighted the offensive onslaught for the Elks. It was 6-0 after just the first inning.
Bend scored four more unanswered runs throughout the rest of the game. Duroff hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Easton Talt in the fourth inning to make it 7-0. Two more runs came in the seventh.
Easton Admunson and Miller were brought in on a 2-RBI single by Abbrie Covarrubias. The USC sophomore made his debut for the Elks in game two. He finished with three RBIs in his first four at-bats for Bend in 2024. This swing from Covarrubias made it 9-0.
One more came around for the Elks in the eighth. Duroff scored for the second time of the night, and Bend scored their tenth run of the game in a shutout effort through eight innings.
The Pipps avoided a shutout loss in the top of the ninth but were unable to make the 10-run comeback. Preston Allen and Julian Angulo scored to make it 10-2 in the final inning. A strikeout ended the game.
The Pipps only got three hits Saturday. They came from Toussaint Bythewood and Drew Johnson. Bythewood's performance in game two gave him his fifth and sixth hits of the season.
Unless Yakima Valley can pick up a win on Sunday night, it will be three straight road series in which the Pipps are swept, dating back to the Cowlitz Black Bears series two weekends ago.
Game three is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. PT from Vince Genna Stadium. Carl Moland-Kovash will make his second start of the season. He last pitched on June 30 against Kelowna on the road. The Whitman sophomore went just two innings and allowed four runs.
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West Coast League Stories from July 7, 2024
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- Pippins Drop Eighth Straight Away from the Orchard - Yakima Valley Pippins
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