Pippins Knock of Wenatchee in Extras
August 10, 2014 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
WENATCHEE, Wash. - The 2014 West Coast League playoffs will be missing a familiar face: the Wenatchee Applesox. For the first time in the league's 10-year history, the Applesox will not play into the postseason, following a 7-6 loss to the Yakima Valley Pippins in 10 innings Saturday night.
Yakima Valley (34-19), which broke a six-game losing streak to the Applesox (30-23) with the win, got out to a good start, scoring a run in the first to build a quick 1-0 lead.
After Wenatchee tied the game at 1 in the 3 rd, Vince Fernandez blasted his 9 th home run of the season on a drive to dead center field in the 4 th, giving the Pippins a 3-1 lead.
After Justin Jacobs gave the Pippins a 4-1 lead with his single in the top of the 5 th, the Applesox tied the game at 4 with a three-run bottom of the 5 th.
Once again, the Pippins answered back, as Fernandez cranked his second home run of the game to make it 5-4. The home run, the ninth of the season for Fernandez, made him the third player in West Coast League history to hit nine home runs in a season, tied for most in league history.
Reliever Austin Woodward's errant throw in the bottom of the 7 th helped the Applesox take their first lead of the night at 6-5, but the Pippins continued to provide quick responses. Ryan Yamane's sacrifice fly in the top of the 8 th tied the game at 6. Relievers Connor Lau and Kenny Rosenberg combined to pitch scoreless 8 th and 9 th innings to get the game to extras.
In the top of the 10 th, the Pippins loaded the bases against reliever Nathan Hadley with one out, before Yamane delivered his second sacrifice fly of the game, this one giving the Pippins a 7-6 lead. Rosenberg picked up the win, setting down the Applesox in order in the bottom of the 10 th.
By virtue of Wenatchee's loss and Bend's win against Klamath Falls, Bend claims the final playoff spot as the wild card and will play Corvallis. That means the Pippins will take on the Bellingham Bells, with game one scheduled for Tuesday night at Yakima County Stadium. Tickets went on sale to the general public Saturday morning and are going fast. Fans wishing to attend Tuesday's game can purchase tickets online at PippinsBaseball.com or by calling (509) 575-HITS (4487).
West Coast League Stories from August 10, 2014
- Bend Edged in Regular Season Finale - Bend Elks
- HarbourCats End Season in Walk-Off Style - Victoria HabourCats
- Miller Not Returning for 2015, Coach Search On - Victoria HabourCats
- Knights to Play Bend in First Round of WCL Playoffs - Corvallis Knights
- Sweets Slug out Series Win in Kelowna - Walla Walla Sweets
- HarbourCats Claw Back, But Fall to BlueJackets -- Fan Appreciation on Sunday - Victoria HabourCats
- Pippins Knock of Wenatchee in Extras - Yakima Valley Pippins
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
