YAKIMA, Wash. — After opening their season on the road for the first time in three seasons, the Yakima Valley Pippins will return to The Orchard in 2023 against a now-familiar opening-series foe.

The Pippins will open their home schedule next summer against West Coast League reigning champion Corvallis on Tuesday, June 6. It’s the third straight summer the Pippins will host the Knights in the home opener.

That three-game series starts a seven-game homestand for the Pippins, who also will host the Bend Elks in a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series before a nonleague Monday game against the Redmond Dudes.

The Monday game will begin at 10:35 a.m. and will focus on schoolchildren and other groups that would prefer attending a day game, Pippins general manager Jeff Garretson said.

The Pippins will have 32 home games spread over nine weeks, with the regular-season finale set for Thursday, Aug. 3.

“We have an exciting balance of midweek and weekend series, which will allow great opportunities for full-season ticket holders and mini-plan holders,” Garretson said.

This year’s WCL schedule features home-and-home series against each team within a division and crossover home-and-home series against two teams in the other division.

In the South Division, the Pippins will play its sibling team, the Walla Walla Sweets, in the Battle of the Basin series, which will be played in each market on weekends this summer. Other South foes include Corvallis, Bend, the Ridgefield Raptors, the Cowlitz Black Bears, the Portland Pickles, and the Springfield Drifters.

Yakima Valley will host and travel to the Nanaimo Night Owls and Victoria HarbourCats in the North Division.

Besides Redmond, the Pippins also will host the Cascade League Showcase team for two games and the Northwest Star Nighthawks for two games.

The Pippins’ promotional schedule, including giveaway and fireworks nights, will be announced in March, Garretson said.

Select mini-season ticket plans and vouchers are currently on sale at PippinsTickets.com or by calling 509-575-4487.

Group ticket sales are available at discount pricing through the end of the year. Opening-night tickets will go on sale in December, Garretson said.

The Pippins 2023 schedule (home games in bold):

JUNE: 2-4 — at Cowlitz; 6-8 — vs. Corvallis; 9-11 — vs. Bend; 12 — vs. Redmond; 13-15 — at Nanaimo; 16-18 — at Victoria; 20-22 — vs. Ridgefield; 23-25 — at Walla Walla; 27-29 — vs. Nanaimo; 30 — vs. Portland.

JULY: 1-2 — vs. Portland; 4-6 — at Bend; 7-9 — vs. Victoria; 11 — vs. CCL Showcase; 12-13 — vs. Northwest Star; 14-16 — at Ridgefield; 17 — vs. CCL Showcase; 18-20 — at Portland; 21-23 — vs. Springfield; 25-27 — at Corvallis; 28-30 — vs. Walla Walla Sweets.

AUGUST: 1-3 — vs. Cowlitz; 4-6 — at Springfield.

A printable schedule can be downloaded here.