Sports stats



WCL Yakima Valley Pippins

Pipps Lose First Road Series Behind Offensive Slump

June 23, 2024 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release


LONGVIEW, Washington - Yakima Valley wasn't able to put together a strong enough response in game two Saturday night and lost its first road series of the summer to the Cowlitz Black Bears with a 5-1 loss at David Story Field.

The Pippins scored the first run of the game in the first inning. Casey Wayne came across for the Pipps as a pitch got away from the Cowlitz catcher JJ Kennett. However, Yakima Valley was not able to compound this start with any more offense the rest of the game.

Read this story on PippinsBaseball.com, or scroll down to continue.

Just four total hits were found by the end of the game for the Pipps. Davis Koester found two base knocks after subbing in for Zach Blaszak early on. The new right fielder entered for the Pippins after Blaszak took a rough tumble over the fence in foul territory as he tried to make a play for his team defensively.

Julian Angulo and Rece Schuerman both found one hit each. Overall, the Pipps got the strikeout numbers down from game one, as only five at-bats finished with a strikeout for Yakima Valley. In game one, the Pippins went down 10 times via the punchout, so this was a much-improved effort in that category.

However, one of the areas that remained a struggle for the Pippins was the number of walks allowed. In game one between these teams, the seventh inning featured the majority of the eight total walks allowed, but in game two, the sixth inning ended up being the Pipps' downfall.

Four free passes were dealt in the sixth, and two of Cowlitz's five runs on the night came in to extend on what was already a 3-1 lead. Three runs in the fifth frame from Rowan Kelly, Keaton Grady and Dylan Schlaegel, which put the Pippins in a deficit that they never were able to recover from.

Among some of the pitching struggles for Yakima Valley, Quentin O'Connor and Carl Moland-Kovash put together some great stuff on the mound. O'Connor shoved four complete innings and did not allow a run on four hits. Moland-Kovash was the final of five total pitchers for the Pipps in game two and went 2.1 inning for just three hits and no runs, with four punchouts.

Offensively, the Pippins were not in normal form. After game two, that put the total run production to just three runs in two games against Cowlitz. The Black Bears now sit fourth-best in the WCL in terms of total runs allowed on the season after some strong defensive performances in the first two games of this series.

Game three provides an opportunity for Yakima Valley to get on the right track and head into an off day with some positives to follow up with in their next series. First pitch is set for a 1:05 p.m. PT start, as the Pipps look to avoid a three-game losing streak. It will also be the Pipps' ninth game in nine consecutive days.

• Discuss this story on the West Coast League message board...

West Coast League Stories from June 23, 2024


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.

Other Recent Yakima Valley Pippins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central