Pippins' Playoff Hopes Extinct After Raptors Defeat
July 31, 2024 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
YAKIMA, Washington - Yakima Valley needed to win out the rest of the regular season, while also receiving help from the Ridgefield Raptors, to have a chance at the postseason in 2024. However, those chances went up in smoke as Ridgefield put together a rout victory in game one on Tuesday night.
The Pipps lost their fifth straight, as the Raptors defeated Yakima Valley 19-3 at The Orchard. This game was tied for the most runs allowed in a single game for Yakima Valley, as Bend scored 19 runs back on July 5 against the Pippins. It was also the largest score differential in a defeat for the Pippins of the summer.
Offensively, the Raptors got big days from Hunter Katschke, Kyle Memarian, Taylor Takata, Dasan Harris, Richard Tejeda III, and Safea Mauai. Each of them had more than one hit in game one of this series, as Katschke led the way with a 4-for-5 effort.
The right fielder had seven RBIs in this game, and on the night, the Raptors batted in 15 of their 19 runs scored. This was Katschke's second four-hit game of the summer, as his other performance came back on July 2nd at Corvallis.
Offensively for Yakima Valley, Casey Wayne, Dom Longo, Rece Schuerman and Kaden Kirshenbaum each went for two hits in game one. Kirshenbaum had just six hits in league play all summer but had one of his best performances of the season.
Preston Allen and Julian Angulo were limited by the Ridgefield pitching staff, as Angulo went just 1-for-5, and Allen went hitless. This was his first game since over a week ago where Allen did not add at least one hit.
On the mound, the Pipps only got 1.1 IP out of Tyler Disch in his second start in league play this summer. The Raptors quickly got on the Yakima Valley College pitcher in the second inning, as they plated seven runs to take an 8-2 lead headed to the bottom of the frame.
Disch was replaced by Nic Lewandowski, who was solid for over five innings of work. The Tacoma Community College pitcher finished 5.2 IP and gave up three runs on four walks and seven hits.
Logan Egge and Keegan Edler each added one inning to finish up the game for the Pippins on the mound. Edler came in for the ninth and gave up an eight-run inning to put the game even more out of reach. Only five of the eight runs were charged to Edler though, as a few defensive errors by the Pipps added to the troubling final frame.
This loss put the playoffs out of reach for the Pippins in 2024. Ridgefield clinched a playoff berth, as they continue to stay on top in the second half South division standings with their sixteenth win since early July.
This is the second season in a row where Yakima Valley will miss the postseason, and they are still three wins shy of matching last year's win total. The Pippins earned 20 wins in 2023, but after this loss in game one to Ridgefield, Yakima Valley sits at 17-29 on the summer.
• Discuss this story on the West Coast League message board...
West Coast League Stories from July 31, 2024
- Pippins' Playoff Hopes Extinct After Raptors Defeat - Yakima Valley Pippins
- Cormier's Dominance Leads Cats to 5-3 Win - Victoria HabourCats
- AppleSox Sweep Doubleheader at Kelowna - Wenatchee AppleSox
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.
