Pippins Drop Opening Day Matchup v. Corvallis

YAKIMA, Wash.- Opening Day jitters got the best of the Pippins in game one of the 2022 campaign.

The defending WCL champion Corvallis Knights shutout the Pippins 7-0 thanks to a superb start on the mound from Jesse Barron.

The University of San Francisco right-hander tossed 5 innings of scoreless baseball without allowing a walk and striking out 9.

Corvallis took the lead on a 2-out error in the 2nd which plated 2 and they never looked back. The Knights would add 2 more with a pair of 2-out hits in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th to make it 7-0.

“We were only out hit by 1 but we just couldn’t put hits consistently together,” said Australian first baseman Liam McCallum. “We were just one hit away from scoring some runs, it was a tough first night but on to bigger and better things.”

There were some bright spots for the Pippins including University of the Pacific reliever Caden Duke, who struck out 8 batters in 3 innings of work without allowing a hit.

“Caden was really good, he shoved. That’s something we can really build upon the next coming days,” said McCallum.

Owen McWilliam and Shayne Simpson also solid outings as each had a multi-hit game and Simpson had the Pippins only extra-base hit.

Yakima Valley has the chance to bounce back tomorrow against the Knights with first pitch at 7:05 PT on YouTube.com/c/PippinsBaseball

By Zach McKinstry

June 4, 2022