Pipps Swept for Fifth Time with Game Three Loss
July 29, 2024 - West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
YAKIMA, Washington - The postseason chances took a large hit this past weekend for Yakima Valley, as the Pippins lost their sixth game to the Bend Elks this season.
Game three featured a 9-3 victory for the road Bend squad, as they defeated Yakima Valley to earn the sweep on Sunday at The Orchard. This was Bend's eighth straight win, as they now have 29 on the year.
It was a competitive game through the first five innings, as Justin Cuellar pitched well against incoming senior Jackson Elder on the bump for Bend. Cuellar finished his night, after a season-long five innings of work, with four strikeouts and four earned runs. He did not walk a single batter, which showed a lot of development from the incoming freshman.
Elder dominated once again for the Elks against Yakima Valley. In his second time pitching against the Pipps this season, he nearly matched his eight-strikeout performance form earlier this month. The Utah pitcher ended with seven punchouts in just five innings.
The Pipps scored their first run of the game in the third inning, as Drew Johnson tripled and eventually came around. This was the future Mercer Bear's third triple of the season, and Dom Longo brought him in on an RBI single. However, this just made it 2-1, as Bend had scored twice an inning earlier.
The Pippins were not able to score again until the sixth inning, and the game had already gotten out of hand at this point. A five-run top of the sixth by Bend gave the Elks a 9-1 advantage halfway through this contest.
This portion of the game for the Elks was highlighted by a 2-RBI double from Jace Miller, as he smacked just his first hit of the game. Hits from Caden Kingsberry and Isaiah Burke also influenced the strong offensive frame, as the Elks took a dominant lead.
The Pipps fired back with one run, as Angulo's scored run made it 9-2 headed to the seventh inning.
The Pipps added another on the scoreboard, as Zach Blaszak came around off of Longo's fielder's choice.This was the third, but unfortunately, last run of the ball game for Yakima Valley.
The scoring ceased after the seventh. Five runs against Zaid Flynn opened things up for the Elks, as the first few innings were very close. Nic Lewandowski ended up finishing the game for the Pipps on the mound and did not allow a run in three innings of work.
Offensively, Angulo went for two hits, while five other Pippins players each added base knocks. Johnson, Longo, Egan, Allen and Aidan Morrison got their names in the stat sheet and combined with Angulo's total to slap seven hits for Yakima Valley.
The Pippins will look to win out and hope for some help around the league in order to make the postseason. There are only three more WCL series for the Pipps in 2024, and the next one starts on Tuesday night against the Ridgefield Raptors.
There may not be a hotter team right now than Ridgefield. They recently rode a 13-game winning streak, until they were finally defeated by Corvallis on July 23rd. They sit at the top of the second-half standings at 15-4, while Yakima Valley is in second-last at 5-13.
This will be the second matchup of the year between Ridgefield and Yakima Valley, as the Pipps won the prior series 2-1 on the road in mid-June. It was the Pippins' last road series victory, as they responded with two straight wins after getting no-hit and shut out in the first of the three games.
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West Coast League Stories from July 29, 2024
- Katschke and Magdaleno Earn WCL's Moss Adams Weekly Honors - WCL
- Pipps Swept for Fifth Time with Game Three Loss - Yakima Valley Pippins
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