Early Offense Not Enough Against Consistent Cowlitz Scoring

Longview, Wa. — After a game one shutout by the Cowlitz Black Bears, the Pippins entered game two with one thing on their mind. They needed to come out and score runs tonight against the Black Bears. Fortunately, the Pippins did that. Unfortunately though, their early production was not enough to win tonight.

In the top of the second inning, with the first three runners reaching base safely, Tyler Dean by way of a single, Brady Hormel with a walk, and Sawyer Chesley with a single, Pippins’ right fielder Brian Rice took the first pitch he saw and clubbed a grand slam over the right field wall. Just like that, the Pippins scoreless streak of 10 innings to begin the series against Cowlitz evaporated.

However, that would be the only inning in the whole game that the Pippins would put any runs up on the scoreboard.

The Cowlitz Black Bears showed the complete opposite way to win a ball game as compared to their one inning of production in yesterday’s contest. After the Pippins’ four-run top of the second, the Black Bears picked up a run in each of the next three innings.

In the bottom of the second, Black Bears’ Jayden Hanna drove home Josh Marchese on a sacrifice fly. In the third, Andres Sosa came around to score on a wild pitch by Pippins’ starting pitcher Jack Gonzales, cutting the lead in half at 4-2.

In the fourth, Black Bears’ shortstop Zack Smith walked, stole second, then was driven in on an RBI single by the next batter in the lineup, once again Jayden Hanna. The score was 4-3 until the bottom of the sixth.

The Black Bears drove home the tying run, pinch-hitter Jhamontee Woods, on a groundout by Colton Titus, tying the game at 4-4. Then in the bottom of the seventh, the Black Bears took the lead, 5-4, on an RBI single by Colton Eager.

The Pippins were shutout for the final seven innings of the ball game and could not tie it up, losing tonight’s game 5-4 and taking their seventh loss in a row. With the loss the Pippins lost the series as well against Cowlitz, and will try to take one out of three tomorrow.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

By Yakima Valley Pippins

August 8, 2019