Pippins Preview: June 8 vs. Wenatchee

The Pippins continue their season-opening home series with Wenatchee with game 2 of the series at 6:35 PM PT Saturday night. The Pippins took game one by a score of 4-1, with Joe Magrisi tossing five innings of 1-hit baseball to earn his first win. The Pippins are set to send left-handed pitcher Cameron Liss to the mound for his Pippins debut as the starter, while Wenatchee right-hander Trent Sellers will oppose him in his AppleSox pitching debut. Live audio and video coverage begins with Miles Klotz at 6:20 PM at pippinsbaseball.com/live.

Full Game Notes

PIPPINS OPEN HOME SLATE WITH WIN OVER WENATCHEE: The Pippins improved to 3-1 on the year with a 4-1 victory over the Wenatchee AppleSox in the team’s home opener on Friday night. Joe Magrisi picked up his first win of the summer with 5 innings of shutout, 1-hit baseball, striking out 7 and not issuing a walk. Christian Padilla, in his first game as a Pippins, went 2-for-5 and scored 3 runs, along with hitting a double. Owen Cobb also added 3 hits and an RBI. Gavin Gorrell took the loss for Wenatchee, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings on 8 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts.

A MAN OF MANY ROLES: Joe Magrisi was electric as a starter for the first time in a Pippins uniform, facing just two over the minimum in 5 innings of work and not allowing a batter to reach second base. He was also strong in his initial appearance on the mound this season, a 10 pitch 9th inning in which he struck out the side in Ridgefield on Opening Night to pick up the save. Magrisi could function prominently in both roles the remainder of the summer.

FOR THE PIPPINS: Left-hander Cameron Liss is set to make his Pippins debut as the starter against Wenatchee tonight. The 6-foot, 175-pound native of Spokane, WA, was a 2nd team All-NWAC East region selection this past spring at Spokane Falls Community College, where he had a 6-2 record and 2.08 ERA.

FOR THE APPLESOX: Right-hander Trent Sellers is scheduled to make his pitching debut for Wenatchee tonight. A 6-foot-1, 176-pound native of Kennewick, WA, Sellers is a rising sophomore at Washington State. He has hit in 2 games for Wenatchee this year, going 4-for-7 at the plate. Sellers had a 6.60 ERA as a freshman at Washington State this spring.

MOMENTUM CARRIES: Zach Lew and Daniel Cipriano, both of whom finished off their college seasons strong, have carried over positive momentum into the start of the summer season. Cipriano, who wrapped up a triple crown-winning spring at Montana State-Billings, had 2 more hits on Friday, his 3rd multi-hit game so far this season. Lew, who started Cal State Fullerton’s last 11 games in the spring, and hit .429 in that stretch, had his 2nd multi-hit game of the summer last night, driving in a run and stealing a base in a 2-for-4 night.

LIMITING THE WALKS: Pippins pitching has walked just 8 batters through 4 West Coast League games, the 2nd-fewest in the league (Victoria, 7). That number is an average of 2.01 walks per 9 innings. Last season, the Pippins pitching staff walked 3.68 batters per 9 innings (194 walks in 475.1 innings pitched).

STEALING WITH PRECISION: After just one stolen base attempt in the first three games of the regular season, the Pippins were 2-of-2 on steals last night, with Zach Lew stealing third base and Owen Cobb successfully swiping second. Now 3-of-3 on the year, the Pippins are one of 3 WCL teams not to be caught (Ridgefield, 3-for-3; Bellingham, 1-for-1). Additionally, the Pippins caught a runner stealing for the first time in 2019, when Justin Lutz, in his first game as a Pippin, nailed Wenatchee’s Tyler Detloff at second base to end the top of the third inning.

ODDS & ENDS: Two Pippins rank in the top 6 in the WCL in batting average: Owen Cobb (5th, .538) and Daniel Cipriano (6th, .471)…the Pippins struck out at the plate just 8 times on Friday, a season low…last night’s game took 2 hours and 27 minutes to complete, the 2nd-shortest home opener in team history.

By Miles Klotz

June 8, 2019