PORTLAND, Oregon — Despite taking an early lead, Yakima Valley couldn’t muster much offense in its return to West Coast League play on Tuesday and dropped a 7-1 decision to the Portland Pickles.

The Pippins took a 1-0 lead on an RBI infield single by Maxim Fullerton, but then the wheels came off.
A couple of defensive blunders allowed the Pickles to score twice in the bottom of the inning, which turned out to be all they needed.

Yakima Valley continues to be ice cold at the plate in WCL play. The Pippins had just five hits, most of which came in the third inning. Yakima Valley had only three base runners from the third inning on and just one hit until the ninth.

Joey Harmon continued his strong second half on the mound. The Pacific University right-hander tossed another three scoreless frames. Since his first three outings, Harmon hasn’t allowed more than one run in eight appearances out of the pen.

The Pippins had a single and back-to-back walks in the ninth before a double play ground out derailed any chance they had to crawl back into the contest.

The Pippins will look to right the ship at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in Game 2 against the Pickles.