Pippins Drop High-Scoring Game 2 to Springfield
June 6, 2024 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Oregon - After Yakima Valley was able to outlast the Drifters in a 13-inning battle on the road to open the series a day earlier, Wednesday's game did not see the same success. The Pipps dropped Game 2 to Springfield in a hard-fought battle that came down to the ninth inning, by a final score of 13-11.
The Pippins saw offense early in game two that eluded them nearly all of Tuesday. Four runs scored, as Davis Koester, Preston Allen, Brennan Morgan and Casey Wayne, came across to make it 4-0 Yakima Valley.
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Max Goldberg got the start for Yakima Valley and ended up pitching four innings. He started strong by keeping Springfield silent on the scoreboard until the third inning, when Ely Kennel was able to make his way around for the Drifters' first run, which made it 4-1.
Yakima Valley didn't get going offensively, and Springfield took advantage. The Drifters brought Elijah Maris and Garrett Cooper across home plate off a couple walks and a single by Springfield to close the margin to 4-3.
The Pipps found a huge response to that run by the home team in the fifth, highlighted by a 2-RBI single by Casey Wayne. That hit made Wayne 2-for-3 on the day with three RBIs.
The Pipps led 7-4, but the Drifters wouldn't go down easy on their home turf. They followed up with a four-run inning to tie the game. A double from Brandon Stinnett, and a few RBIs from Garrett Cooper and Ely Kennel helped give Springfield the nudge they needed offensively to work back into the game.
Springfield kept it going, as the Drifters turned in a game-high five-run inning in the sixth as the Drifters batted around. Lobetos started the frame with a leadoff walk and would go on to be the first of the five runs scored, before grounding out to end the inning with a score of 12-7.
Yakima Valley cut into the lead afterward, as some defensive errors helped move Gavin Brubaker and Maurico Guardado around the basepath. Brubaker came in first, for his second scored run of the year, and Guardado came in afterward on Blake Peterson's RBI single, his first hit in league play. The Pipps cut the deficit to three runs.
Brandon Stinnett was able to score off an RBI grounder, and the Drifters got a run back to make it 13-9. The Pipps then saw success at the plate from Brennan Morgan and Wayne. Both batters drew back-to-back walks, and Brubaker's 2-RBI single helped on the scoreboard, as Yakima Valley was only down 13-11.
With a leadoff walk and a single from catcher Dane Woodcook, the Drifters began a solid counterpunch. However, the cannon of a right arm from Mauricio Guardado was on display once more this season, as he threw down to second to pick off Cooper. This ended up being a game-changing play, as Carl Moland-Kovash followed up this throw by retiring the next two Drifters to bring the Pipps up one last time.
Rece Scheurman clutched up with a two-out, first-pitch base knock to give the Pippins some hope. However, a strikeout wrapped up the game.
Wayne led the way for Yakima Valley offensively. He was the only Pippin with more than one hit in this game. On the mound, Max Goldberg finished with 4.0 innings pitched, five hits, three earned runs and six strikeouts.
Relief help from Will Merriott, Keegan Edler, Davis Koester and Carol Moland-Kovash brought together a combined total of four punchouts. This was the Pippins' fourth time in five games with double-digit strikeouts against the Drifters.
The deciding Game 3 on the road is scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. PT start Thursday. The Pipps look to begin the year by taking two straight series against the Drifters before heading back to The Orchard for a three-gamer against the Corvallis Knights.
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