Pippins Finish Sweep in Wenatchee

WENATCHEE, Wash. – For the third straight road trip, the Yakima Valley Pippins came into the final game of a three-game series with a chance to pick up a sweep. After two unsuccessful tries, the Pippins finally brought out the brooms on Thursday, knocking off the Wenatchee Applesox by a score of 7-4.

Things got off to a rough start for the Pippins (12-6), who missed a good scoring opportunity in the top of the 1^st and fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the frame after starter Mitch Yada walked three hitters, including one with the bases loaded.

Yada settled in from there, though, retiring 13 of the next 14 hitters to keep the offense within reach. The bats delivered with three runs in the 4^th against the Applesox (5-10). Wenatchee second baseman Jake Hirabayashi made two costly errors in the inning, leading to all three runs being unearned.

After going up 4-1 in the 5^th, the Pippins gave up two runs in the 6^th to make it 4-3. But the Pippins answered right back, scoring three times in the 7^th, including a two-run single for Jake Manson, to go up 7-3. Wenatchee got its final run of the night on a solo home run by Evan Douglas in the 7^th but the Applesox would score no more and were swept for the second time at home this season.

Yada got the win after six innings of work. The southpaw allowed 3 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 4 walks and had a season-best 7 strikeouts on the way to his second win of the year. Connor Lau worked the final three innings to help preserve the win.

Yakima Valley picked up its fifth straight win against the Applesox, all of which have come at Paul Thomas Field. The Pippins return home Friday to take on the Kelowna Falcons for the second time in the span of a week. Yakima Valley leads the Falcons by ½ game in the East Division after Thursday’s win. First pitch for all three games against the Falcons is scheduled for 7:05 pm.