Williams Dominates over 8 Innings Before Bats Rally
Published on July 23, 2014 under West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
YAKIMA, Wash. - When the top two pitching staffs in the West Coast League, you can expect a quality pitching performance. That's exactly what the Yakima Valley Pippins and Bellingham Bells delivered Tuesday night, as the Pippins rallied late to win, 6-1 at County Stadium.
Brandon Williams was the early story for Yakima Valley (22-15), shining in front of a crowd of 1,449. The right-hander out of Central Washington University was perfect through his first five innings of work, inducing multiple soft pop outs and strikeouts to keep the Bells (26-10) scoreless.
He got some run support in the bottom of the 2 nd, courtesy of Ryan Yamane. The Pippins second baseman lined a single into left field that scored Mitch Skaggs from 3 rd base and gave Yakima Valley a 1-0 lead.
After allowing his first hit and base runner on a Jack Klein bunt single to begin the 6 th, Williams found himself in some trouble in the 7 th and 8 th. The Bells put the first two men on with back-to-back singles to begin the 7 th. Scott Heath then put down a sacrifice bunt and catcher Alex Guenette's throw to 1 st base went down the right field line to allow the tying run to score.
As Bellingham starter Eder Erives found his groove, his bats almost gave him a lead in the top of the 8 th, as the Bells put runners on 1 st and 3 rd with only 1 out. However, back-to-back failed squeeze bunts by Chris Baker and a Williams strikeout ended the Bells' threat. Williams worked 8 innings, giving up 5 hits, 1 unearned run, 0 walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts.
With Erives out of the game in the bottom of the 8 th, the Pippins bats teed off on relievers Dan Ludwig and Burk Fitzpatrick. After a one-out double by Reid Martinez, Mitch Skaggs hit his second home run of the season, putting the Pippins up 3-1. A wild pitch, and two bases-loaded walks later in the inning gave the Pippins a five-run advantage they would not relinquish.
The win ended a four-game losing streak in WCL play for Yakima Valley, while giving Bellingham its first three-game losing streak of the season. Game two of the series is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. However, with rain in the forecast, fans should check the team's Twitter and Facebook pages to get alerts on potential delays or postponements.
West Coast League Stories from July 23, 2014
- Late Scare Not Enough to Overcome Sweets in 6-5 Win - Walla Walla Sweets
- Kelowna Falcons Squish AppleSox - Kelowna Falcons
- Elks Take out Gems 13-5 - Bend Elks
- HarbourCats Blank Black Bears - Victoria HabourCats
- Williams Dominates over 8 Innings Before Bats Rally - Yakima Valley Pippins
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