Pippins Steal a Win in Corvallis in Extra Innings

CORVALLIS, Oregon — Owen Egan had the biggest hit of his Pippins career and pitched two innings in relief to pick up the win as Yakima Valley beat Corvallis 5-4 in 12 innings Tuesday.

In his only at-bat Tuesday, Egan knocked in Josh Hankins with a one-out double that broke a 4-4 tie and was the only run scored by either team after the sixth inning. Egan then retired the Knights in order in the bottom of the frame to earn the win.

Egan, the fifth Pippins pitcher of the night, struck out two and didn’t allow a hit.

Trailing 4-1, Yakima Valley knotted the game at 4-4 with three runs in the sixth. Konner Kinkade was hit by a pitch with one out, Tommy Eisenstat walked and Gabe Villaflor also was hit by a pitch before Beck Maguire hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored Kinkade. Maxim Fullerton reloaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch and, after a pitching change, Zack Blaszak doubled to score Eisenstat and Villaflor and tie the game.

Corvallis scored three runs in the first on a two-run homer by Sam Stern and a double by Tate Shimao, and added another in the fifth on a ground out.

The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Knights.

Yakima Valley scored its first run on a wild pitch in the third.

Blaszak finished 2-for-4 with a pair of walks.

The Pippins stranded 11 baserunners, but Corvallis left 14 men on base.

The Pippins and Knights square off in Game 2 of the three-game series at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday.

By Logan Peter

July 26, 2023